The frosted nudibranch, Dirona albolineata, in Boiler Bay, Oregon, at low tide. Also known as Alabaster Nudibranch or Chalk-lined Nudibranch. Despite its delicate appearance, this mollusc is actually a ferocious predator. It has strong rasping jaws used to crush snails, its main prey, but it also happily devours sea anemones, bryozoans, and sea squirts. The tentacle-like lobes on the back are called cerata. The primary function is for gas exchange. Some nudibranchs are able to "borrow" cells from their prey and grow them in the cerata - specifically, stinging cells from anemones, or chloroplasts from plants and algae. The nudibranch actually derives photosynthetic energy from this latter innovation. Surely genetic engineering could allow humans to "farm" chloroplasts in their hair follicles, and obtain sugary goodness from the sun itself. These magnificent animals are models for the possibilities of the future. In the last section of video, it is possible to see the heart beating through the animal's back. Like most gastropods, nudibranch undergo torsion, an embryonic process by which their guts twist up into a bag on their back and flip around. This was originally an adaptation of snails (also gastropods) so their guts could fit comfortably inside the shell, and so their anus was sticking out of the shell (otherwise, imagine the septic nastiness that would ensue.) However, nudibranchs also undergo secondary detorsion, to get the anus pointed away from the head (a sad condition many snails have yet to escape.) The music is by Vangelis, but I don't know the name of this piece. Some knowing soul is sure to post the song title.