Sea creature ‘adorned with gold’ found on coral in Philippines. It’s a new species
Off the coast of the Philippines, a colorful sea creature moved along a sandy slope. Something about the golden animal caught the attention of nearby scientists.
It turned out to be a new species.
Researchers visited Balayan Bay several times in May 2011 to survey sea life, according to a study published April 24 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. During their visit, they encountered several sea slugs “adorned with gold.” They photographed the unfamiliar-looking sea animals and captured them for later study.
Several years later, researchers did a large-scale DNA analysis of a sea slug family, known as Goniodorididae, and identified several possible new species, the study said.
Researchers took another look at the yellow sea slugs found in the Philippines and realized they’d discovered a new species: Naisdoris aurornata, or the golden sea slug.
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Golden sea slugs are small, measuring about a tenth of an inch, the study said. They have two “slender” horn-like structures on their head and other outgrowths along their “elongated” body.
Photos show the new species with its mostly white body “adorned with gold,” the study said.
Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin words “auro,” or “gold,” and “ornata,” or “adorned,” because of its “bright yellow color.”
Like other sea slugs, the new species has both male and female sex organs, the study said.
So far, the new species has been found in the Philippines and Indonesia, the study said. It lives in the “coral rubble on sandy slopes.”
The new species was identified by its coloring, pattern, reproductive system, internal anatomy DNA and other subtle physical features, the study said.
The research team included Sofia Paz-Sedano, Gary Cobb, Terrence Gosliner and Marta Pola. The team also discovered six more species of sea slug.
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