This was the first sighting of the rainbow sea slug in a rock pool.
A woman in the UK made an incredible discovery while exploring a shallow pool of seawater, also known as rock pool, around to coast of Falmouth in South Cornwall. Vicky Barlow was stunned to see a rainbow sea slug, according to the BBC. Experts say there have been only three previous sightings of the creature in the UK and this was the first in a rock pool. The slug, also known as Babakina anadoni, is a member of the aeolid nudibranch in the family Babakinidae.
These sea slugs are known for their bright colours and unusual shapes and are usually found in warm sea waters off the west coast of Spain, Portugal and France.
“There have been a handful of sightings by divers and snorkelers since but, as far as we can tell, this is the first time this species has been found by a rock pooler in the UK,” marine biologist Dr Ben Holt of the Rock Pool Project told the BBC.
The expert further said that the discovery of sea slug in Cornwall was part of a pattern of “massive changes” the marine life has experienced over the last five years.
“It’s an amazing find and I expect we will see more of them. It is also quite remarkable because rock pools are quite a harsh environment with the tide going in and out,” said Dr Holt.
Ms Barlow was volunteering with the Rock Pool project when she turned over a stone and found the beautiful creature.
“When you have been rock pooling as much as I have been in the last year, you start to get an eye for which rocks are most likely to have something interesting underneath. The last rock I picked up was exactly one of these,” she told The Guardian.
“It was quite a large, heavy rock, covered in various seaweeds, and once lifted something extremely bright and unusual caught my eye,” Ms Barlow further said.