Ocean Art 2025 – Honorable Mention Nudibranchs

Ocean Art 2025

Honorable Mention Nudibranchs

Paul Eijkemans

Meet the Costasiellas!

The Story:

A group of Costasiella sp. seaslugs, roaming a leaf, as if they were one family. This small animal is also popularly known as the “Shaun the Sheep” nudibranch, named after the famous character in a British TV series which it resembles. Technically speaking, they are not nudibranchs but belong to the order of Sacoglossa seaslugs. Contrary to nudibranchs, which are carnivores, Costasiellas feeds on algae and even practice kleptoplasty—they steal chloroplasts from algae and keep them functional inside their own cells. So, just as sheep they also only eat greens. The shot was made in Tulamben, Bali, where it is pretty common to find these seaslugs. One needs good eyes though: adults are usually 5-10mm large and can only be properly photographed with a diopter that allows for super macro shots. This shot required a lot of patience, as I had to patiently wait for about 45 minutes before all three nudibranchs looked pretty much into the same direction, towards me. The shot was done using a snoot, to eliminate the background and to reduce backscatter in the picture.

Location:

Indonesia, Bali, Tulamben, Melasti divesite

Equipment Used:

  • Camera – Nikon Z7
  • Housing – Nauticam
  • Strobe/light – 1x Inon Z330 with Snooty snoot
  • Lens: Nikon 105mm with Nauticam SMC-1 diopter

Camera Settings:

  • ISO 200
  • F/40
  • Shutter speed 1/200s

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