Glossary

• aeolid -   a nudibranch having cerata present on it's back.
• anterior - towards the front of the body.
• arborescent - tree-like.
• autonomy - casting off part of the body, cerata, part of mantle, etc.
• bifurcate - branching or forking evenly into two lobes.
• bipinnate - with small side branches arising on two sides of the main stem or axis (relates to gills).
• branchial pocket - a cavity in the posterior midline of a dorid's body into which the gills can be withdrawn.
• buccal - the mouth or mouth cavity.
• carnivorous - feeds on other animals.
• cerata - finger-like processes arising in groups from the back of aeolids and containing part of the diverticula of the digestive gland.
• chitin - a tough membranous protein material.
• clavus - The distal portion of the rhinophore above the stalk.
• cnidosac - A small cavity at the apex of the cerata for storing nematocysts.
• crenulate - evenly notched; indented.
• deimatic display - frightening behaviour consisting of adoption of of a posture by one animal to intimidate another.
• distal - part of body most remote from the point of attachment.
• dorsum - the back of the animal.
• endemic -
• ephemeral - seasonal organisms that usually die back in winter.
• epidermis - skin.
• gastropoda  -
• gill - respiratory organ.
• hermaphrodite - bisexual, possessing both male and female reproductive organs.
• lamellate - bearing plates on the posterior face of the rhinophore stalks.
• mantle rim - the edge of the mantle; in many nudibranchs this is reduced to a ridge along the sides of the body, from which processes or cerata arise.
• mucronate - a rounded shape, drawn out into a point at the tip.
• nematocyst - stinging cells found in cnidarians.
• notal ridge - A more or less projecting, lateral ridge on the side of some nudibranchs' bodies" represents the orginal mantle edge.
• operculum - a horny plate that seals the opening of the shell, this is absent in adult nudibranchs, but present in the larval stage
• opisthobranch  - a member of the subclass Gastropoda
• oral tentacles - tentacle or flap around the mouth
• oral veil - a membranous extension of the head about the mouth.
• ovotestis - male and female gonads.
• pallial rim - mantle rim.
• pedunculate - stalked.
• pelagic - passively drifting or floating with the currents.
• phanerobranch - gills that cannot be retracted into a gill-pocket.
• pinnate - bearing side branches, branched as to resemble a feather.
• posterior - the tail end of the animal.
• proximal - closet to point of attachment.
• prey - an animal on which another animal feeds.
• pustule - a low conical, rounded or uneven projection.
• reticulate - a pattern of straight lines or ridges joining at angles.
• rhinophore - chemosensory (smell, taste) tentacles on the head or anterior section of the mantle.
• rhinophoral pocket - a cavity into which the rhinophores can be retracted.
• rhinophoral sheath - upstanding flange from the antero-lateral part of the mantle into which the rhinophore can be contracted.
• sessile - living attached to the substratum.
• spawn - mass of eggs embedded in transparent jelly.
• spicules - calcareous spines incorporated in the mantle tissue.
• subapical - section below the apex or tip.
• subterminal - just below the end or tip of a process.
• synonym - a newer name given inadvertently to a species already described.
• taxonomy - the classification of organisms into related groups in a hierarchical manner.
• tentacle - a long sensory process.
• tripinnate - with small branchingarising from the sides of the main stem or axis
• tubercle - a rounded swelling, found on the dorsal surface of many dorid nudibranchs.
• velum - a ciliated pair of lobes, used for swimming and feeding by larval molluscs.
• ventral - the oral surface on the underside of the animal.