White Flabellina

Luisella babai

Luisella babai is a sea slug that can reach lengths of 30 to 53 millimetres. Its body is typically white to light blue and elongated, featuring a translucent appearance with a white edge and a long, sharp pointed tail. The cerata, which are the finger-like projections on its back, are arranged in groups of three to nine and share the body’s coloration, adorned with yellow-orange rings at their tips. The animal also has two long tentacles and two rhinophores that match its body color, with the rhinophores having yellow tips. It can be distinguished from similar species, such as Samla bicolor, which is found only in the Indo-Pacific region. This species is primarily found in the Mediterranean Sea, where it is considered fairly common, and it also inhabits the Adriatic Sea as well as the Atlantic coasts of Spain, Portugal, and Senegal. Luisella babai prefers rocky bottoms at depths ranging from 5 to 50 metres. It feeds on hydroids, particularly species like Campanularia, Bougainvillia, and Eudendrium. As a hermaphrodite, Luisella babai reproduces by laying a white gelatinous spiral cord of eggs on hydrozoan branches. After five to eight days, the eggs hatch into veliger larvae. Encountering this nudibranch while diving can be a unique experience, as its coloration and structure make it visually interesting against the rocky backgrounds it inhabits.