Explaining The Ocean

Melibe viridis is a carnivorous sea slug that hunts using a large, balloon-like oral hood made of soft, transparent tissue. Instead of biting its prey, the hood spreads across the seafloor like a net and suddenly snaps shut, trapping small animals inside. The motion works almost like a soft vacuum, allowing the slug to swallow its prey whole.

Inside the hood are tiny sensory hairs that detect movement from small crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs. Once contact is sensed, the hood quickly contracts and funnels the prey straight into the mouth. Scientists have even found entire small crabs inside their stomachs, showing how efficient this feeding technique really is.

Melibe viridis lives in shallow tropical waters across the Indo-West Pacific and has also appeared in the Mediterranean, likely entering through the Suez Canal. It can grow up to about 14 cm long and has a translucent green body with leg-like appendages that help it move along sandy seafloors. Its unusual hunting method highlights how some nudibranchs evolve highly specialized survival strategies without relying on jaws or teeth.