Sea Slug Borrowers – Inspirational video – Biomimicry for Young Children

Spots, stripes, bold vibrant colours or soft milky pastels. Nudibranchs do everything to capture your attention. These soft-bodied creatures warn predators with their high contrast markings and colours. But some sea slugs are a bit more cunning, and they steal stinging cells that they collect from hydroid prey.

The nudibranch’s gut is impressive, with fingerlike branches that extend into long spines, cerata, on its back. At the tips of the cerata are cnidosacs. The word ceras comes from the Greek word “κέρας”, meaning “horn”.

The sea slug borrowers have horns filled with poison and the squeeze and shoots out the stingers when a fish or crab tries to bite it.

To further kick start your thinking, watch the adorable sea bunnies in the videos below. What can you invent when you ponder over the slug’s ears. They are rhinophores ; rhino= nose and phore= to hear orcarrry the sea bunnies ears are scent or taste receptors.

Or read this blog post Eternal Magic Leaf Sheep Snack Bar and Photosynthesis – Biomimicry