sea slugs

one of my favorite sea creatures is the nudibranch. these lovely, colorful, soft-bodied marine gastropods inspired me to learn diving... my spark, borrowing the term from birders.

luckily, the Mabini-Tingloy sea, the natural laboratory where i learn and experience the underwater world, is teeming with different kinds of nudibranch. in fact, new species of nudibranch were discovered recently by the California Academy of Sciences during their study in this sea.

since they are slow, nudibranch adopted certain types of defense mechanisms. some species can blend or mimic the texture and color of their surroundings, some can release poisons while some store toxins to drive away predators.

so just observe and be mesmerized. no touch :)

photos courtesy of award-winning dive photographer, and a dear friend, Danny O.