DATE2025.03.19 #Press Releases

The Blue Angel "Glaucus atlanticus" Uses "Cerata," the Devil’s Hands, for Predation

~ Utilizing the Nematocysts of Ingested Jellyfish Not Only for Defense but Also for Capturing Prey!? ~

Summary

A joint research team led by Gaku Yamamoto, a staff member at the Enoshima Aquarium, and Kohei Oguchi, a Lecturer in the Department of Biology at Tokai University (Sapporo Campus), together with Naoki Kanai and Professor Toru Miura at the Misaki Marine Biological Station, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, has discovered that nudibranchs Glaucus atlanticus, known as "blue angels" preys on fish and jellyfish by using their lateral projections, called "cerata," like "hands". The results of this research were published in Ecology on March 17, 2025.

Links

Tokai University, Enoshima Aquarium

Journals

Journal name	Ecology
Title of paper	Blue angels have devil hands: predatory behavior using cerata in Glaucus atlanticus