Psychedelic Gelatinous Lifeforms

Etsy has become even more cool since a particular search term resulted in an entire page of handmade awesomeness; I can always count on Etsy artists to feed my need for geeky art but I was still surprised to see how many items had the word nudibranch in their titles!

What the frak is a nudibranch?
Commonly refered to as 'sea slugs' they're basically like a marine version of the slug on a major acid trip.

One pill makes you larger...

Ceratosoma magnifica by Murray Post of Digital Ocean

 
The name means 'naked gills' referring to the feather-like structures found on certain species of nudibranch that serve as gills or lungs (yes aquatic organisms need oxygen too!). The hallucinogenic colors have evolved as camouflage in some species (to hide where? Burning Man festival?) or as a warning of toxicicity in others.

...and one pill makes you small...

Colorful Sea Slug by 1 Earth Photography

 ...but the ones that mother give you...

 Frilled nudibranch

So now you see how these psychedelic balls of goo are exactly the kind of inspiration Etsians eat for breakfast! Wait that didn't come out right...

Nudibranch bangle, or as the artist calls them nudibrangles:

Colorful polymer clay nudibranch bangle from Malodora

Your cat wants a nudibranch.

Nudibranch cat nip toy

From The Frog Bag, another Etsy seller with a degree in zoology!

20% of the price of anything bought in their store will be donated to The Tapir Preservation Fund.

UH-ma-zing silkscreened scarf by Zoebe ! 

Pink spanish dancer silkscreened scarf

Want to DIY? Crochet patterns for Amigurimi nudibranch! Is there nothing you can't make with crochet? I think not.

Sea-Slug Crochet Pattern  by Allescaro

Nudi blues plush nudibranch from Spekals

Ernst Haeckel thought they were pretty neat balls of goo too:

Art Forms in Nature, Plate 43, Nudibranchia

Pretty nudies, trippy nudies, little balls of goo. What will evolution think of next?

http://urbannaturalhistory.blogspot.com/