Critters of the Lembeh Strait | The Melibe Colemani Nudibranch

Critters of the Lembeh Strait | The Melibe Colemani Nudibranch

For many nudibranch lovers the “Melibe colemani” tops their list of must-see creatures. This critter is so perfectly camouflaged that it is very hard to spot – it lives in the waving polyps of a Xenia family coral (Anthelia) where it hunts tiny organisms by extending its large oral hood. If you watch carefully, you can see at 50 seconds into the film how a small brown acoel flatworm (Waminoa sp.) living on the base of the coral flees the attacking Melibe!