Mating Dance

Each spring Clown Nudibranchs come together to find a mate. Nudibranchs are unique in that they are hermaphrodites. Each one is simultaneously a male and a female – they possess reproductive organs of both sexes. While mating they fertilize each other, although a nudibranch cannot fertilize itself. They then both lay eggs in a beautiful spiral that will take up to a week to mature and hatch.

Clown nudibranchs are found in many different habitats, from rocky reefs to cliff faces and boulders in the rocky intertidal, down to depths of 40m. These nudibranchs not only in the temperate waters of the Eastern Pacific along the coastal regions of British Columbia but also in Southern Australia.

Thanks for reading.

Scott

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