Rainbow Sea Slug present in British Rock Pool | Reef Builders
A fairly little nudibranch has been discovered by a rock-pooling information in Falmouth in Cornwall, UK. The temperate waters across the Cornish coast are naturally wealthy in invertebrates however this uncommon discover, Babakina anadoni, is generally native to the hotter waters of Spain, Portugal, France, and even Brazil and the Caribbean on the opposite aspect of the Atlantic Ocean. The tiny 2cm lengthy, rainbow-colored sea slug is barely the second to be sighted in British waters with the primary being noticed off the Isles of Scilly, probably the most southerly level in Britain, in 2022. The most recent discover was noticed by The Rock Pool Project volunteer Vicky Barlow.
“When you have got been rock pooling as a lot as I’ve been within the final yr, you begin to get a watch for which rocks are most definitely to have one thing attention-grabbing beneath. The final rock I picked up was precisely certainly one of these. It was fairly a big, heavy rock, lined in varied seaweeds, and as soon as lifted one thing extraordinarily shiny and weird caught my eye. Having been studying up on nudibranchs so much just lately I knew precisely what the colorful blob in entrance of me was! The extraordinarily uncommon Rainbow Sea Slug! As soon as delicately positioned in a pot to view, the attractive animal unfurled and revealed itself in full technicolor.”
Fairly the character!
“Just a few fellow nudibranch lovers from our group quickly rushed over and all of us watched the creature navigate the pot in full awe. Like most nudibranchs it had fairly the character, rearing as much as get a greater take a look at its environment, and utilizing its tentacle-like ‘cerata’ alongside its again to make itself seem greater if certainly one of our fingers bought too shut.”
“?It’s completely wonderful what yow will discover on our rocky shores, and at this time was an ideal instance of the unimaginable wildlife we have now on our doorstep right here in Cornwall. I’ve just lately joined our staff of safari guides and to have discovered this lovely animal on solely the second week of operating them hopefully bodes effectively for future discoveries!”
Babakina anadoni was first described in 1979 and is known as in honor of Emilio Anadón Frutos (1917-1997) who was a professor of zoology and marine biology on the College of Oviedo, Spain. It’s believed to prey on hydroids and has a planktonic larval section, therefore its extensive dispersal throughout each side of the Atlantic.
