Colorful Sea Slug Found in British Water for the First Time

A rare colored sea slug was discovered for the first time in British waters. Off the Isles of Scilly, the Babakina anadoni, about half the size of a little finger, was seen.

(Photo : Image from Bernard DUPONT licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license)

Rare Sea Slug

A very unusual multicolored sea slug has been found on British seas for the first time.

The Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust agreed that the 2 cm long, multicolored sea slug, Babakina anadoni, was the first sighting.

Allen Murray, a volunteer diver, participating in the Species Trusts Seasearch program, which asks citizen scientists to dive and document the wildlife near the coast, discovered it off the Isles of Scilly.

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Where they Originally Came From

The snail often inhabits warmer climates. It is extremely uncommon and has only been identified a few times in the Atlantic and along Spain's west coast.

What a remarkable discovery, said Matt Slater, a marine conservation officer for the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the Seasearch program coordinator for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. We were delighted to learn of the discovery of this colorful nudibranch, a species that we don't think has previously been noted in the UK.

It's one of the finest sea slugs I've ever seen, and given that Allen even noticed it, it's less than half the size of your tiny finger! There is still so much about the aquatic ecosystem that we don't understand. These records from our Seasearch divers are crucial for assisting us in better understanding and safeguarding our oceans.

Seaslugs, also known as nudibranchs, are related to their terrestrial counterparts but are far more colorful and have more unique shapes. They eat anemones, seaweed, and other sea slugs for food.

Isles of Scilly Creatures Trust's communications manager, Lucy McRobert, continued, "We never stop being astounded at the wildlife popping up in Scillonian seas. Every time we dive beneath the surface, we discover and observe something new, from uncommon and gorgeous nudibranchs to violet sea snails to large whales like humpbacks and fins!"

Why Study Slugs?

There are various reasons why researchers study sea slugs. As indicator species, they provide information on the state of their habitat. For instance, nudibranch abundance may be related to climatic variations. They also aid in illuminating evolutionary processes, including the emergence of defensive systems and the development of shells and organs.

Nudibranchs are crucial to medicine because the poisonous substances found in the prey they consume are potent chemical agents that can stop the development of cancer cells. Sea hares and nudibranchs are used in research by scientists researching neurobiology (learning and memory) because they have basic nervous systems and hundreds of big, distinguishable neurons.