So why does such a beautiful creature so common to our local jetties have such a hard to produce name such as Ceratosoma brevicaudatum?

You could just call it a nudibranch or even a seaslug but these are as vague as calling all dogs, dogs. There are of course many answers to a question like this. The obvious answer is that it needs a scientific name to accurately describe the species but why no common name? As it turns out the vast majority of animal species have no common name and the poor nudibranch falls into this category. Quite simply it comes down to this, if you can’t eat it or it has no significant commercial value then nobody bothers to give it one.

This guy on a pylon at Port Hughes posed perfectly for the camera and is portraying in the close-focus – wide-angle style which gives a real sense of habitat.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘Day 419, Ceratosoma brevicaudatum’ 1/200s f/11 ISO320 15mm