common grey sea slug vs Spring Pea

Aeolidia papillosa compared with Lathyrus vernus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	common grey sea slug	Spring Pea
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Nudibranchia (Nudibranchia)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Aeolidiidae	Fabaceae
Genus	Aeolidia	Lathyrus
Species	Aeolidia papillosa	Lathyrus vernus

Conservation Status

common grey sea slug

LC — Least Concern

Spring Pea

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	common grey sea slug	Spring Pea
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.

Spring Pea

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found across Europe (8 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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden