A beautiful spanish shawl dances in the surge off of Catalina Island, California. Although common, they are one of the most beautiful nudibranchs to photograph.

While one of the most common nudibranches in southern california, the Flabellinopsis iodinea or "Spanish shawl" is by far one of the most stunning. It stores the nematocysts of cnidarians that it eats in its cerata.

Beauty in the common: The Spanish Shawl is many California diver's first encounter with a nudibranch. Its stunning purple, orange, red and gold colors stick out on any reef. I might have 1,000 shots of these (maybe only a slight exaggeration) but I still stop to shoot one if it is in a good pose.