New genus of sea slug discovered after more than 2 decades
After more than two decades, scientists finally identified a deep-sea nudibranch—now called Bathydevius caudactylus—that was first spotted years earlier, nearly 8,600 feet underwater in Monterey Bay.
The slug is so unique it needed its own family
This see-through sea slug isn't just new—it's so unique it needed its own genus and family.
It uses a jelly-like hood to trap shrimp, has a spatulate tail fringed with finger-like projections, and can even glow blue thanks to bioluminescent granules.
It can detach and regrow a glowing projection
Bathydevius has been observed illuminating and detaching a glowing finger-like projection from its tail, which may serve as a decoy, and can regrow those projections.
It's also hermaphroditic and lays long ribbons of eggs deep on the ocean floor—pretty wild for a creature that spent more than two decades as an ocean mystery!