Monday 12 November 2018

17 new brilliantly colored species of sea slugs described



by Shreya Dasgupta on 1 November 2018

Researchers have just described 17 stunning new species of sea slugs that live among coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region.

All the species belong to the genus Hypselodoris, and come in a wide variety of colors.

Researchers reorganized the genus Hypselodoris, adding new-to-science species to the group, and revealing secrets of the evolution of their brilliant color patterns.

From lavender to orange, pink to yellow polka dots — researchers have just described 17 stunning new species of sea slugs that live among coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region.

All the species belong to the genus Hypselodoris, a group of colorful sea slugs that make for striking photo models. In a recent study, researchers from the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) reorganized the genus Hypselodoris, adding new-to-science species to the group and revealing secrets of the evolution of their brilliant color patterns.

Discovery of the new species is a great feeling, said Terrence Gosliner, senior curator at the Department of Invertebrate Zoology at the CAS. “Several species [of Hypselodoris] had not been studied previously from a genetic perspective and we had reason to believe that we had discovered a bunch of new species, based on their external appearance,” he told Mongabay.

Among the new species are Hypselodoris confetti, a sea slug that looks like it’s covered in shreds of brightly colored paper; H. rositoi, named for its distinctive rose-pink shade; and H. skyleri, a sea slug with white spots that resemble stars in the sky and that’s named after co-author Rebecca Johnson’s son, Skyler (Sky) Rodgers.

No comments:

Post a Comment

You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!

Related Posts with Thumbnails

ShareThis