Our story “What is a nudibranch? Meet the “high fashion models” of the ocean depths” was published online at Canadian Geographic yesterday!
Where we live
In British Columbia, where we live, nudibranchs inhabit the emerald depths in such high concentrations, the province is considered Canada’s hotspot for the creatures. Since our work as underwater photographers requires us to have more than a passing acquaintance with nudibranchs, we photograph as many species as we can.
Nudibranch basics
“There are two distinct types of nudibranchs: aeolids and dorids. Aeolids absorb oxygen through their skin and have a series of horn-like projections, called cerata, on their heads and backs that allow them to take in more oxygen. Dorids, the most common type of nudibranch, breathe through a tuft of external feathery gills that they can retract into their body for protection if needed. Nudibranch gills come in many shapes and sizes and are used for breathing, digestion, and defence. While in other parts of the world the average length for nudibranchs is about two centimetres, British Columbia’s nudibranchs are giants by comparison, generally reaching 15 to 30 centimetres in length.”
For more, go here: https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/what-nudibranch-meet-high-fashion-models-ocean-depths