And finally for this week a brand new animal, I have a soft spot for sea slugs they're amazing creatures and so cute! (Look up the Sea sheep)
New species of sea slug discovered in UK waters - Centre for Environment, Food and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS)
An exciting discovery has been made by researchers in the waters off the southwest coast of England. A new species of sea slug, named Pleurobranchaea britannica, has been identified by scientists from the Centre for Environment, Food and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) and the University of Cadiz, Spain.
Measuring between two and five centimetres long, Pleurobranchaea britannica is a type of side-gill sea slug. Specimens of this newly classified species were collected during routine fisheries surveys conducted by Cefas, and the Instituto Español de Oceanografía in 2018 and 2019 off southwest England and in the Gulf of Cadiz, southwest Spain.
Initially, given the presence of the distinctive side-gill on the right side of the body Cefas scientists tentatively identified the specimens as Pleurobranchaea meckeli, a well-known species of the Pleurobranchaea genus typically found in waters around northern Spain to Senegal and across the Mediterranean Sea. However, no previous records of the species in UK waters existed, raising questions around its identity.
After a long search to find experts specialising in this type of sea slug, the specimens were sent to a team of scientists in Spain for further investigation.
Analysis conducted by the University of Cádiz revealed that the specimens indeed represented a new species. An examination of the DNA, as well as the identification of physical differences in the appearance and reproductive systems when compared to known species, supported the classification of Pleurobranchaea britannica as a standalone species.
The discovery marks the first recorded instance of a sea slug from the Pleurobranchaea genus in UK waters. Scientists believe that this new species could potentially be found from as far south as Spain and Portugal, around the French coast and up to the southwest of the English Channel.
The study, published in the Scientific journal of Zoosystematics and Evolution highlights the importance of understanding the way species shift and move through the ocean in response to changes to their environment.
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Posted On: 01/03/2024