A rare species of sea slug, Ercolania kencolesi, has been found in coral reefs off the coast of southern Taiwan, the Kenting National Park Headquarters said Aug. 22.
The discovery marks the creature’s first confirmed appearance in Taiwan, the KNPH said. Previously it was known to exist only off the coast of North Queensland in Australia, around the Great Barrier Reef, and in the coral reefs off Guam, according to the KNPH.
“I had an encounter with the sea slug 10 years ago in the Kenting area,” said Chiu Yuh-wen, assistant professor at Kaohsiung Medical University whose research team made the discovery.
“But my sighting was never officially confirmed, and it was not until 2007 that Australian scientists gave the slug a scientific name.”
The 0.5-centimeter long animal lives in and feeds on the sea alga Boergesenia forbesii by crawling inside its tubes and ingesting the contents.
Its body has a tinge of green because it is filled with chloroplasts, Chiu said. “The vegetarian sea slug is photosynthetic, meaning it can turn chlorophyll into usable energy.”
Ercolania kencolesi has been observed in Australia and Taiwan only in July, Chiu added.
The creature was found off the coast of the Houwan Village, known as a major habitat for land crabs, in southern Taiwan’s Kenting National Park.
“The sea slug and the crabs can survive only near healthy coral reefs,” Chiu said, adding that more efforts are needed to protect the area’s fragile biodiversity. (HZW)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw