Rare rainbow sea slug found in Falmouth rock pool

A stone pooler has recovered a uncommon oversea slug portion searching astir the seashore of southbound Cornwall.

Vicky Barlow was poking astir the pools of Falmouth erstwhile she recovered the rainbow oversea slug, usually recovered successful warmer waters.

According to experts determination person been lone 3 erstwhile sightings of the carnal successful the UK and this was the archetypal successful a rockpool.

"There person been a fistful of sightings by divers and snorkelers since but, arsenic acold arsenic we tin tell, this is the archetypal clip this taxon has been recovered by a stone pooler successful the UK," said marine biologist Dr Ben Holt of the Rock Pool Project.

The rainbow oversea slug, oregon Babakina anadoni, is simply a subordinate of the aeolid nudibranch family, which are characterised by their agleam colours and antithetic shapes, helium said.

It is usually recovered successful lukewarm oversea waters disconnected the westbound seashore of Spain, Portugal and France.

Spotting the oversea slug was portion of a signifier of "massive changes" successful sealife seen astir the South West implicit the past 5 years, said Dr Holt.

"It's an astonishing find and I expect we volition spot much of them," helium said.

"It is besides rather singular due to the fact that stone pools are rather a harsh situation with the tide going successful and out."

Ms Barlow said she had been trying to find a spider crab connected 6 May erstwhile she recovered the oversea slug betwixt Castle and Gyllyngvase beaches.

"It was a precise debased outpouring tide, which mightiness explicate wherefore it was successful a stone pool," she said.

"It was rather a discovery, they are perfectly beauteous and it shows that astonishing taxon tin beryllium recovered successful the UK."

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