The two also differ in their defense mechanisms-although this is not recommended as a way to test which is which! Since both animals lack hard shells or spines to deter predators, they have evolved to possess some pretty creative ways of defending themselves. Sea slugs lack tube feet and undulate along the sea floor in a manner that looks similar to land slugs (although some sea slugs can swim, too). To move forward, the cucumber pushes water into the feet through a water vascular system, which makes the feet firm and allows them to act like tiny legs that creep the cucumber along.
![slug vs snail slug vs snail](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ee/2a/9e/ee2a9e08ed13aa5e8ead6dc2dfa704d0.jpg)
If you take a closer look, you’ll be able to see tiny tube feet on the sea cucumbers that are absent from the sea slugs. siboglinid tubeworms © NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research
SLUG VS SNAIL PATCH
The sea cucumber Chiropdota heheva in a dense patch of Sclerolinum sp. You can sometimes see tentacles coming out of one end that the cucumber uses to feed, but they can retract those back into their bodies. Conversely, sea cucumbers have no definitive head end-they kind of look like underwater sausages. Some sea slugs also have exposed gills on their backs (in fact, the term “nudibranch” comes from Greek and Latin words meaning “naked gills”), which can appear feathery and brightly-colored. These tentacles, called rhinophores, allow sea slugs to “smell” chemical signals. Most sea slugs have a defined “head” with tentacles used to sense their surroundings. So, how can you tell these two spineless critters apart? The easiest way is to look at the head (or rather, look if there is one). These slugs can push off from a surface and swim with a thrashing motion to escape being eaten. The name “sea cucumber” refers to more than 1,000 species in the class Holothuroidea named for their cucumber-like appearance. While all types of sea slugs have their unique qualities, they often resemble terrestrial land slugs.
![slug vs snail slug vs snail](https://differencecamp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Slug-VS.-Snail.jpg)
The name can also be used to describe sacoglossans, sea hares and sea butterflies (also known as pteropods).
![slug vs snail slug vs snail](https://static.diffen.com/tnimgs/hashtree/7/70/70f991.jpg)
There are approximately 3,000 nudibranch species known to science, and we continue to discover new species today. “Sea slug” is most commonly used in reference to nudibranchs, which are often brightly-colored intricate gastropods found all over the world. On the other hand, sea cucumbers are most closely related to spiny animals, like sea stars and sea urchins. To put it simply, sea slugs are more closely related to shelled animals, like clams and oysters, than they are to sea cucumbers. Sea slugs are a marine gastropod, which is part of Phylum Mollusca, where sea cucumbers are part of Phylum Echinodermata. Brush up on your invertebrate facts (and impress your friends) with these easy ways to tell them apart.įirst things first: sea slugs and sea cucumbers aren’t even in the same taxonomic group. Although these soft-bodied, elongated sea-dwellers may seem similar, sea slugs and sea cucumbers could not be more different. Hey, we get it-invertebrates can be hard to tell apart.