photo: Flickr user * Alicia
photo: Nick Hobgood
photo: Flickr user * Alicia
photo: Flickr user * Alicia
photo: Flickr user * Alicia
Habitat: Mediterranean, off western Australia, West Africa, and the South African coast from the Cape Peninsula to East London
Status: Not Listed
Anyone who follows The Featured Creature knows that I’m incredibly obsessed with nudibranchs (okay, all animals – but nudibranchs hold a special place in my heart) so it’s a big deal what I’m about to say: this might be my new favorite nudi!
The colors of this species, Godiva quadricolor, are absolutely breathtaking. It’s slender, transluscent body is has has a light purple hue and the oral tentacles appear to be almost tye-dyed in appearance. Under the right lighting conditions, the photographer can really capture the brilliance:
photo: Gary Cobb and David Mullin
photo: Gary Cobb and David Mullin
photo: Gary Cobb and David Mullin
Godiva quadricolor can be found intertidally to 20 m in the Mediterranean. They feed on anemones and other nudibranchs; so if you’re one of the other nudibranchs in the Mediterranean make sure to compliment the quadricolor on its magnificent appearance. Maybe it will spare you. But probably not.
The video below doesn’t exactly prove they won’t eat the poor soul that crosses its path… watch as it hoover vacs the itty-bitty nudi in front of it!
//youtube.com/watch?v=IWmaSkhsmbY
