The orange-eyed nudibranch, scientific name Cratena capensis, is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of sea slug

Slug

Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...

, specifically an aeolid

Aeolidioidea

Aeolidioidea is a superfamily of small sea slugs, the aeolid nudibranchs. They are gastropod mollusks.-2005 taxonomy :The superfamily Aeolidioidea consists of the following four families :* Aeolidiidae Gray, 1827* Facelinidae Bergh, 1889* Glaucidae Gray, 1827* Piseinotecidae Edmunds, 1970Synonyms...

 nudibranch

Nudibranch

A nudibranch is a member of what is now a taxonomic clade, and what was previously a suborder, of soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusks which shed their shell after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colors and striking forms...

. It is a marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 gastropod mollusc in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Facelinidae

Facelinidae

Facelinidae is a taxonomic family of colorful sea slugs. These are specifically aeolid nudibranchs. They are marine gastropod molluscs.- 2005 taxonomy :...

.

Distribution

This species has only been found around the South African coast from Saldanha Bay to Port Alfred, intertidally to at least 30 m. It is endemic to South Africa.

Description

The orange-eyed nudibranch grows to between 10 and 30 mm in total length. It is a slender pale-bodied nudibranch which has smooth white rhinophore

Rhinophore

A rhinophore is one of a pair of club-shaped structures which are the most prominent part of the external head anatomy of a group of sea slugs, marine gastropod opisthobranch mollusks in the order Nudibranchia, the nudibranchs, specifically the dorid nudibranchs.- Etymology :The name relates to the...

s and a pair of elongated oral tentacles. The head bears two 'eye' patches of orange or red. Its cerata

Cerata

Cerata are anatomical structures found in nudibranch sea slugs, marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusks.They are dorsal and lateral outgrowths on the upper surfaces of the body....

 are reddish or orange with white tips. The colour of the cerata varies with diet.

Ecology

This nudibranch feeds on a variety of hydroids

Hydrozoa

Hydrozoa are a taxonomic class of very small, predatory animals which can be solitary or colonial and which mostly live in saltwater. A few genera within this class live in freshwater...

. Its egg mass is a broad coil of one or two whorls.