Watch: Newly identified deep sea slug glows as it glides through the ocean
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute researchers spent 20 years studying and identifying this "mystery mollusc" species. The newly identified sea slug is unique because it lives more than 8,500 feet down and feeds more like a Venus fly trap than other sea slugs.
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Marine scientists have identified and named a mysterious creature of the deep sea after studying the elusive sea slug for twenty years.
Bathydevius caudactylus is a newly identified sea slug that lives in the midnight zone of the ocean, creating light in the darkness with bioluminescence at 8,500 feet below the surface, according to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California.
Researchers published the name and detailed description of the newly identified sea creature this month after decades of studying it with MBARI's underwater technology.
Bathydevius caudactylus from a video frame grab.
(MBARI)
According to a news release, the creature has been known as a "mystery mollusc" since 2004 when it was first spotted off Monterey Bay by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
After more than 150 observations and carefully collecting samples, MBARI determined through genetics that the animal is a previously unidentified species of nudibranch, more commonly known as a sea slug.
"What is exciting to me about the mystery mollusc is that it exemplifies how much we are learning as we spend more time in the deep sea, particularly below 2,000 meters," MBARI Senior Scientist Steven Haddock said.
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The sea slug is about 5.6 inches long and has a transparent body with colorful, visible organs. It flexes its whole body to swim in an up-and-down motion or flows with the currents to travel the ocean.
MBARI's findings show that the deep sea slug uses unique movements to find and eat food, surviving in the midnight region of the ocean.
"While most sea slugs use a raspy tongue to feed on prey attached to the seafloor, the mystery mollusc uses a cavernous hood to trap crustaceans like a Venus fly trap plant," MBARI said.
Researchers observed the creature using its bioluminescence to evade predators.
Haddock said only recently have underwater cameras been capable of filming this behavior in high resolution and full color.
"MBARI is one of the only places in the world where we have taken this new technology into the deep ocean, allowing us to study the luminous behavior of deep-sea animals in their natural habitat," Haddock said.
Using an underwater low-light camera system developed at MBARI, researchers were able to film the bioluminescence display of the Bathydevius caudactylus with the ROV Doc Ricketts.
(MBARI)
Bathydevius caudactylus has been sighted off the Pacific coast of North America, and MBARI expeditions have seen the creatures from north Oregon to Southern California. However, NOAA researchers in the Western Pacific have suggested the sea slug could have a more widespread habitat.