If It Wasn't Pretty, Then It Wasn't Me

Sacoproteus smaragdinus is a herbivorous sea slug that feeds on sea grapes (Caulerpa racemosa). If you look at the algal food, you'll notice that this slug looks remarkably similar! In fact, the entire Sacoproteus genus is distinguishable by its members' resemblance to Caulerpa seaweed.

John William Godward (English, 1861-1922)

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905)

Phyllodesmium poindimiei is a brightly coloured aeolid nudibranch that can grow up to 5 cm long. It feeds on soft corals, and can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific. P. poindimiei near Hawaii eat a specific type of octocoral that is invasive to the area, so the slugs' use for controlling invasive octocoral abundance has been studied - though the results were not promising.

MARBLED CAT (PARDOFELIS MARMORATA) A supersize tail likely helps this house-cat-size species balance as it navigates the forests of Southeast Asia at night. Due largely to its secretive lifestyle, it is one of the least known small wildcats. Photo by Joel Sartore.

a 2014 Japanese stamp depicting an arctic hare