A tiny beautiful neon-bright sea creature discovered on a beach is among the rarest UK marine finds ever.
The sea slug was found by a member of the public on a beach.
The striking fire-tip sea slug was first spotted during a Devon Wildlife Trust Shoresearch survey at Wembury.
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It is believed to be one of the first of its kind ever recorded in the UK.
A second was seen there in November.
The first was discovered by a participant in the beach walk, who showed a photograph to the trust’s marine engagement assistant Jake Taylor-Bruce.
He recognised the rare find immediately – and was so excited he raced across the slippery rocks to see it for himself, as reported by What’s The Jam.
“Somebody came over to me with a photo of something that they’d seen, and said, ‘I’ve seen this animal, and it’s beautiful but I don’t know what it is’,” he said.
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“I raced over at speeds that probably people shouldn’t be running over the slippery, rocky surface, I think I probably hydroplaned.”
The fully grown slug measured around 3cm long and lives among red seaweeds, feeding on algae.
Its fiery reds, oranges and purples help it blend into its surroundings.
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The species is usually found in the Mediterranean and prefers warmer waters, making its appearance off the Devon coast a possible sign of the effects of climate change.
Taylor-Bruce said he had long hoped to see one himself.
“Ever since I’ve been going, I’ve missed out on that one, and I’m probably never gonna see another one,” he said.
“And then, lo and behold, right there in front of me, was one of these fire tip sea slugs.
“This species in particular, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The second was spotted by Eleanor Goodall.
The discovery comes after another unusual sea slug was spotted off Devon in August.
Diver Maggs Ashton found a tiny orange, purple and white nudibranch while exploring the wreck of the MV Robert off Lundy.
The ship sank in 1975 and the creature was spotted around 65ft underwater, measuring just 0.6 inches long.
Marine naturalist Bernard Picton said the find was significant and believed it could be a species that had never been formally identified.
Maggs said the colourful creature immediately caught her eye despite its tiny size.
She said: “I was just swimming along and not really looking that carefully when I suddenly saw it.
“It just stood out, and I’d never seen anything like it before in my 29 or 30 years of diving – it was really special.”
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