Technically, nudibranchs are marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. Often, they are called sea slugs because of their way to move and their general body shape.

However, both variants don’t really reflect why so many scuba divers and underwater photographers love nudibranchs. Currently, about 3,000 species of nudibranchs are known and they come in countless variations of color and shape.

Anouk Houben found a better way to describe them on her Instagram profile – and we quite like the comparison;

Butterflies of the Sea

Find here a selection of our photos that illustrates the delicate and elegant nature of nudibranchs, portraying their colors and shapes. If you are interested, we also host a gallery of all species we had been able to photograph.