common grey sea slug vs Flat Wrack

Aeolidia papillosa compared with Fucus spiralis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	common grey sea slug	Flat Wrack
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Chromista (Chromista)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Ochrophyta (Ochrophyta)
Class	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)	Phaeophyceae (Phaeophyceae)
Order	Nudibranchia (Nudibranchia)	Fucales (Fucales)
Family	Aeolidiidae	Fucaceae
Genus	Aeolidia	Fucus
Species	Aeolidia papillosa	Fucus spiralis

Conservation Status

common grey sea slug

LC — Least Concern

Flat Wrack

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	common grey sea slug	Flat Wrack
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

common grey sea slug

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Flat Wrack

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate coniferous forests, montane grasslands and shrublands, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Found across Africa (Morocco) and Europe (9 countries).

common grey sea slug

<em>Aeolidia papillosa</em>, commonly known as the common grey sea slug, is a nudibranch mollusc belonging to the genus Aeolidia within the family Aeolidiidae. Despite the species name referencing terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater, <em>Aeolidia papillosa</em> is primarily a marine organism. Its range includes Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, indicating a distribution across the North Atlantic and into South American waters. Common grey sea slug is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The species is typically found in intertidal and subtidal zones, where it preys on sea anemones and stores stinging cells from its prey in its dorsal cerata for defense. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.