nudibranch
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia | Date: 2007
[or sea slug] Any marine gastropod in the order Nudibranchia. Most nudibranchs lack a shell, mantle cavity ( mollusk), and gills, and breathe through the body surface. The delicately colored body, up to 16 in. (43 cm) long, has bizarre defensive outgrowths, called cerata, that discharge nematocysts ingested from cnidarian prey. Antennalike organs arise from the head. Nudibranchs occur in shallow waters of all oceans, where they feed chiefly on other invertebrates, particularly sea anemones. Some species can swim; others are bottom creepers. The term sea slug sometimes refers to all members of the subclass Opisthobranchia.
Copyright 1994-2008 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research
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The snack attack: a tale of two critters.(sea slug eats sea anemone's tentacles)
Ranger Rick; 3/1/1995; Kranking, Kathy; 319 words
; One day a tube anemone (uh-NEM-uh-nee) sat minding its own business on the ocean floor. This flower-like sea animal (photo at left) wasn't looking for trouble -- anemones never do. But suddenly up crept a hungry sea slug. That's the red creature with the spike hairdo. Uh, oh -- the sea slug began
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Toxic blast.(PHYSICAL/CHEMISTRY)(aplysia californica, sea slug)
Science World; 3/27/2006; Cutraro, Jennifer; 153 words
; Predators beware! This sea slug squirts out a purple cloud of toxic chemicals as self-defense. How does Aplysia californica (ap-LEE-zha cal-ih-FOR-ni-ka) store this nasty brew without harming itself? Charles Derby, a biologist at Georgia State University, found that the slug holds different
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Oriental Oddity; The Chinese Passion for Sea Slugs
The Washington Post; 1/27/1988; Bruce Cost; 574 words
; The sea slug is a boneless Chinese gastronomic prize that creeps along the ocean floor. It was referred to in a pre-fifth century fragment of a work scholars call The Canon of Gastronomy, which no longer exists. At the time the sea slug was called hai-shu or "sea rat" and it was described simply as
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Eastward slow, the sea slugs. (sea slugs have neuron that uses earth's magnetic field and phases of the moon for guidance)
Science News; 1/24/1987; Edwards, Diane D.; 378 words
; ... biology research. The real crux of the findings is . . .that they have an organ [that senses magnetic fields], Willos told SCIENCE NEWS. In virtually no case has the existence of such an organ been shown. He notes that there have been descriptions of small magnetic ...
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MEMORIES ETCH SENSE OF SELF
The Boston Globe; 11/27/2001; CHET RAYMO; 769 words
; Neurologist Antonio Damasio suggests in his book "Descartes' Error" that the great French philosopher got it backwards: Not "I think, therefore I am," but rather "I am, therefore I think." Without a brain - those few pounds of red meat atop our spinal columns - thinking is impossible. The mind, and
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