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Nudibranch
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==Distribution and habitat== [[File:Mystery_mollusc.jpg|thumb|The unusual ''[[Bathydevius]]'' is the first known [[Bathypelagic zone|bathypelagic]] nudibranch|left]] Nudibranchs occur in seas worldwide, ranging from the Arctic, through temperate and tropical regions, to the [[Southern Ocean]] around Antarctica.<ref name="OceanPortal" /><ref name="fishermenscuba">[http://www.fishermenscuba.com/DiveArticles/nudibranches.htm Nudibranchs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130814034543/http://www.fishermenscuba.com/DiveArticles/nudibranches.htm |date=2013-08-14 }}, Fishermen Scuba.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Ekimova, I. |author2=T. Korshunova |author3=D. Schepetov |author4=T. Neretina |author5=N. Sanamyan |author6=A. Martynov |date=2015 |title=Integrative systematics of northern and Arctic nudibranchs of the genus Dendronotus (Mollusca, Gastropoda), with descriptions of three new species |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=173 |issue=4 |page=e0192177 |doi=10.1111/zoj.12214 |doi-access=free }}</ref> However, they are mostly found around [[Southeast Asia]]. They are almost entirely restricted to salt water, although a few species are known to inhabit lower salinities in [[brackish water]].<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Korshunova, T. |author2=K. Lundin |author3=K. Malmberg |author4=B. Picton |author5=A. Martynov |date=2018 |title=First true brackish-water nudibranch mollusc provides new insights for phylogeny and biogeography and reveals paedomorphosis-driven evolution |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=1 |page=e0192177 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0192177 |pmid=29538398 |pmc=5851531 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1392177K |doi-access=free }}</ref> Nudibranchs live at virtually all depths, from the [[intertidal zone]] to depths well over {{convert|700|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name=fishermenscuba/> The greatest diversity of nudibranchs is seen in warm, shallow reefs, although one nudibranch species was discovered at a depth near {{convert|2500|m|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Discoveries of deep-sea biomass and biodiversity using an ROV |url=http://www.mbari.org/twenty/biodiversity.htm|publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute |access-date=16 October 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009075212/http://www.mbari.org/twenty/biodiversity.htm |archive-date=9 October 2013}}</ref> This nudibranch, described in 2024 as ''[[Bathydevius]]'', is the only known nudibranch with a [[Bathypelagic zone|bathypelagic]] lifestyle and is one of the very few to be [[Bioluminescence|bioluminescent]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Rayne2024">{{cite web | last1=Rayne | first1=Elizabeth | title=Researchers finally identify the ocean’s “mystery mollusk” | website=Ars Technica | date=2024-12-02 | url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/12/glowing-sea-slug-behaves-like-a-jellyfish-lizard-and-venus-flytrap/ | access-date=2024-12-02}}</ref> Nudibranchs are [[benthic]] animals, found crawling over the substrate.<ref name=fishermenscuba/> The only exceptions to this are the [[neustonic]] ''[[Glaucus (genus)|Glaucus]]'' nudibranchs, which float upside down just under the ocean's surface, such as the [[glaucus atlanticus]]; the [[pelagic]] nudibranchs ''[[Cephalopyge trematoides]]'', which swim in the water column;<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Steinberg |first=J. E. |year=1956 |title=The pelagic nudibranch, ''Cephalopyge trematoides'' (Chun, 1889), in New South Wales with a note on other species in this genus |url=http://biostor.org/reference/68603 |journal=Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales |volume=81 |pages=184–192}}</ref><ref>G.M. Mapstone & M.N. Arai, ''Siphonophora (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) of Canadian Pacific Waters'', p.33. "The best-documented predators of pelagic cnidarians from the phylum Mollusca are the neustonic nudibranchs and snails [...and] the pelagic nudibranch [...]"</ref> the two pelagic species of ''[[Phylliroe]]'', and the evolutionarily distinct, bathypelagic ''[[Bathydevius]].<ref name=":0" />''<ref>Gosliner TM, Valdes A Behrens DW 2015 ''Nudibranch and Sea Slug Identification Indo-Pacific'' New World Publications Jacksonville Florida USA</ref>
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