WATCH: Rare sea slug found in Falmouth beach UK
"Spotting sea slug was part of ‘massive changes’ in sealife seen around South West over last 5 years," says expert
May 16, 2023
In a rare discovery by a member of a rock pool project who was looking for a spider crab, Vicky Barlow spotted a rare sea slug in the rock pool of South Cornwall.
The creature, dubbed as rainbow sea slug is a warm water species found off the sea coast of Spain France and Portugal but was earlier sighted three times in the UK. However, its presence as a rockpool shocked the founders.
A marine biologist Dr Ben Holt of the Rock Pool Project said: "There have been a handful of sightings by divers and snorkelers since but, as far as we can tell, this is the first time a rock pooler in the UK has found this species."
Rainbow sea slug — real name Babakina anadoni — is a member of the aeolid nudibranch family, which are characterised by their bright colours and unusual shapes, he said.
Dr Holt said: "Spotting the sea slug was part of a pattern of 'massive changes' in sealife seen around the South West over the last five years."
"It's an amazing find and I expect we will see more of them," he said.
"It is also quite remarkable because rock pools are quite a harsh environment with the tide going in and out."
"It was a very low spring tide, which might explain why it was in a rock pool," Barlow said.
"It was quite a discovery, they are absolutely beautiful and it shows that amazing species can be found in the UK."
