Bubble Shells, Head Shield Slugs, Order Cephalaspidea

Our group of snorkelers, researchers, reef cleaners and turtle rescuers has not found too many of these beautiful sea slugs.  Perhaps this is because we have only been searching for the ones that stand out on relatively shallow reefs and in tide pools.  According to Sea Slugs of Hawaii, there are plenty of drab, well-camouflaged cephalaspidea out there, so we will search more widely and closely.  Unfortunately, many of these animals are nocturnal and prefer to bury themselves in sand and algae, using their well-evolved flattened cephalic shield (head).  Click on the images or associated text and you’ll find more information and photos about these beauties.