AeolidOrange
Cratena peregrina
Wandering sea slug
- ·Translucent white body, very mobile
- ·Cerata tipped orange beneath a bluish band
- ·Two orange spots between the rhinophores
Field guide · Malta & Central Mediterranean
Know your nudibranchs.
A quick field guide to the sea slugs you're most likely to meet on a Maltese dive. Filter by body type or colour, match what you saw, then log it to NudiBank in a couple of taps.
Identification notes are based on established Mediterranean records and are a guide, not a guarantee; when in doubt, log it as “not sure” and our team will help.
Body type
Dominant colour
9 species
AeolidViolet
Flabellina affinis
Purple aeolid
- ·Translucent purple body
- ·Clusters of rose-purple cerata
- ·Often on Eudendrium hydroids
AeolidViolet
Edmundsella pedata
Violet sea slug
- ·Vivid, saturated violet body
- ·Cerata often white-tipped
- ·Long, slender rhinophores
DoridBlue
Felimare picta
Painted dorid
- ·Largest Mediterranean chromodorid
- ·Blue-black with reticulated yellow lines
- ·Bright yellow margin
DoridBlue
Felimare villafranca
Blue dorid
- ·Deep blue body
- ·Scattered small yellow dots
- ·Fine yellow margin
DoridWhite & brown
Peltodoris atromaculata
Dotted sea slug · “sea cow”
- ·Firm, domed white body
- ·Large chocolate-brown blotches
- ·Almost always on Petrosia sponge
Sap-suckerBlue
Thuridilla hopei
Hope's sea slug
- ·Small, with raised parapodial folds
- ·Electric-blue, white & orange stripes
- ·A sacoglossan, not a true nudibranch
Sea slugYellow
Tylodina perversa
Yellow umbrella slug
- ·Brilliant sulphur-yellow body
- ·Carries a flat, cap-shaped shell
- ·Lives on yellow Aplysina sponge
AeolidOrange
Dondice banyulensis
Banyuls aeolid
- ·Reddish-orange cerata
- ·Iridescent blue flecks along the body
- ·Bold, high-contrast colouring
No species match those filters. Try widening your search — or log it as “not sure” →
Still can't place it?
Mediterranean sea slugs are wonderfully variable, and new records turn up every year. Don't worry about getting the name exactly right — submit your photo as “not sure” and our team and community will help identify it.