The Kenyan Sea is one of the eight wonders of the world where you can admire the nudibranchs. 
One might think of strange species which, if they go around in packs and all naked, in reality, the nudibranchs are a sort of sea snails, so much coloured to be called, in Indonesia, "sea butterflies". They can be found all over the world at all depths, even if most of the species live in warm and shallow waters, although species have been found also in the Antarctic seas. Just do a search on the internet to realize that Nudibranchs are extremely popular in the underwater environment, especially since diving, for true lovers of this activity, is no longer only made up of sharks and turtles but also gives these little gems that are so present in Kenya that a dive is a real journey to discover the many different species of these incredible and fascinating invertebrates, especially when you are accompanied by guides who know where to find them and how to recognize them.  Equipped with a soft and flexible body, they have shapes and colours that can vary enormously to the point that among nudibranchs you can find the most colourful creatures on earth. They are typically benthic animals, living on the coral reef (although some, like the Spanish dancer, can swim through body movements and others can live on the high seas even floating). many of them are characterized by a nice little coloured tuft, used for breathing, and by small horns, called rhinophores, used as sensory organs. The colors and the presence of the cornini give to the nudibranch a nice puppy aspect even if in reality the animal in question is blind and does not interact with the diver, in any case its life is interesting and not monotonous as it could seem, in fact they are carnivorous animals (some feed on sponges and other marine organisms, others are even cannibals) and they are also hermaphrodites, even if they have to mate among them (interesting the photos of the Blue Fin Diving gallery in this regard).   The so showy and varied coloration is used by the nudibranch as a protection system or to reach the right degree of camouflage or to signal its poisonousness or inedible. This enormous variety of shapes and colours, both for camouflage and defensive purposes, has determined a variety such as not to find similar in any other animal genus. Their beauty and the ease with which they can be observed, especially in Kenya, together with the accessibility to digital systems has certainly contributed to push more and more people towards underwater photography. Even Blue Fin Diving instructors and guides who dive daily often find species that have not yet been observed and classified in Kenya. This makes the reefs of Kenya a destination of choice for all those divers passionate not only to macro photography but also to the simple observation of these interesting and colorful marine species. Recently Kenya "underwater" is starting to be known for its considerable amount of different species and enormous biodiversity (and not only for nudibranchs), and so divers who used to travel the world to the most distant and expensive places are starting to go to Kenya to take pictures of species that until now they were only able to find in Papua New Guinea! All the species of Kenya observed have been sent to the large nudipixel database, a site that collects photos and data of nudibranchs from all over the world, and which has placed Kenya in eighth place among all the locations in the world for number of species, just after destinations well known and famous for diving such as Indonesia, Australia and Malaysia. To date, as many as 126 different species registered in Kenya! (admire them onwww.nudipixel.net ) surely destined to increase, the small jewels of the sea are waiting for you on the reefs of Malindi and Watamu!