# Barnacle-Eating Dorid (*onchidoris bilamellata*)

The Barnacle-Eating Dorid is a colorful sea slug that loves to munch on barnacles! It has a soft body covered in beautiful patterns, making it a fun find in tide pools.

- **Category:** [Invertebrate](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/invertebrate)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger
- **Snaps:** 1
- **Habitat:** Barnacle-Eating Dorids live in tide pools and rocky coastal areas.
- **Also known as:** Barnacle Slug, Dorid

![Barnacle-Eating Dorid](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Onchidoris_bilamellata.jpg&width=800)

Photo: Minette Layne from Seattle, Washington, USA, CC BY 2.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Onchidoris_bilamellata.jpg)

## Appearance

The Barnacle-Eating Dorid is a small, oval-shaped sea slug, typically cream to yellowish with dark speckles. Its back is covered in numerous small, wart-like bumps (tubercles). It has two feathery rhinophores and a plume of gills near its rear.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Mollusca
- **Class:** Gastropoda
- **Order:** Nudibranchia
- **Family:** Onchidorididae
- **Genus:** Onchidoris

## Interesting facts

- Dorids are a type of nudibranch, which means 'naked gill' because their gills are exposed!
- These sea slugs have a super-short lifespan, living only about one year!
- These tiny sea slugs are hermaphrodites, meaning each one has both male and female parts!
- They smell with their 'rhinophores', which are like two feathered antennae on their head!

## Special abilities

- **Barnacle Scraper:** Barnacle-Eating Dorids can scrape barnacles off surfaces using their tough radula because it's like a tiny, specialized conveyer belt of teeth.
- **Warty Camouflage:** Barnacle-Eating Dorids have a bumpy, wart-like body texture that helps them blend perfectly with rough, encrusted rocks.
- **Taste Deterrent:** Barnacle-Eating Dorids can absorb chemicals from their diet, making them taste unpleasant to many hungry predators.

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 1-4 cm
- **Weight:** 1-5 g
- **Lifespan:** 0.5-1.5 years

## Diet & Feeding

A tiny carnivore, it exclusively eats barnacles, scraping them off surfaces.

- **Primary Foods:** barnacles
- **Foraging Method:** Grazing

## Ecological connections

- **Eats:** Acorn Barnacle (*Semibalanus balanoides*) — Scrapes these common intertidal barnacles from rocks.
- **Eaten by:** Green Crab (*Carcinus maenas*) — Often preyed upon by this common shore crab.
- **Eaten by:** Dog Whelk (*Nucella lapillus*) — Occasionally eaten by this predatory sea snail.

## Traits

- [Solitary](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/solitary): Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.
- [Colorful](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/colorful): Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.
- [Coastal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/coastal): Coastal habitats are dynamic environments located along the interface between land and sea, influenced by tides, waves, and saltwater.
- [Carnivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/carnivorous): This trait identifies organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of animal tissue.
- [Marine](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/marine): Marine habitats encompass all saltwater environments of the Earth's oceans, supporting an immense diversity of aquatic life.

## Collections

- [Invertebrates](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/invertebrates)

## Safety

**Danger:** 0/5 · No known danger

No special safety notes yet.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Barnacle-Eating Dorid?

Look for fins, arms, tentacles, shells and body symmetry. Underwater light shifts colors, so structure and markings usually matter more than shade. Sea Creature Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Barnacle-Eating Dorid?

1-4 cm

### How much does Barnacle-Eating Dorid weigh?

1-5 g

### How long does Barnacle-Eating Dorid live?

0.5-1.5 years

### What does Barnacle-Eating Dorid eat?

A tiny carnivore, it exclusively eats barnacles, scraping them off surfaces.

### Where is Barnacle-Eating Dorid usually found?

Barnacle-Eating Dorids live in tide pools and rocky coastal areas.

### How does Barnacle-Eating Dorid hunt?

Grazing

## Where to spot

- [Discovery Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/discovery-park) — Washington, US · Nature Reserve
- [Kitsap Memorial State Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/kitsap-memorial-state-park) — Washington, US · State Park

## More Invertebrate

- [Coral](https://www.snappit.app/explore/coral)
- [Crab Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/crab-spider) (*Mecaphesa asperata*)
- [Garden Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/garden-spider) (*Araneus diadematus*)
- [Brown Recluse Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/brown-recluse-spider) (*Loxosceles reclusa*)

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Source: [Barnacle-Eating Dorid: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/barnacle-eating-dorid)