One of many multifunctional horn or lobe-shaped or leaf-like process on the back or side of a nudibranch mollusk (sea slug). It has a major function as a respiratory organ (a gill), and with a branch of the digestive gland, it also serves as an organ for the exchange of gases and other molecules with the blood. The ceras also stores stinging nematocysts in a structure called the cnidosac, from the cnidarians upon which they feed, which gives it a defensive function. Its ability to change color also gives it a protective camouflage function.