The tiny brightly-coloured sea slug was discovered by diver Maggs Ashton while exploring a Devon shipwreck off Lundy Island
Maggs Ashton made the discovery off the coast near Lundy Island(Image: Jam Press/Maggs Ashton)
Tiny bright sea creature spotted off British coast could be brand new species, experts say.
A minuscule, vividly-coloured sea slug discovered off the British coastline may represent an entirely new species, according to marine experts.
The eye-catching nudibranch, displaying striking orange, purple and white markings, was found by diver Maggs Ashton while exploring a shipwreck near Lundy Island, Devon.
At merely 0.6 inches in length, the enigmatic creature was located approximately 65ft beneath the surface, nestled within the remains of the MV Robert, which went down in 1975.
The tiny bright sea creature was spotted off the Devon coast(Image: Jam Press/Maggs Ashton)
Marine naturalist Bernard Picton has described the find as significant, suggesting the animal is probably a species that has never been formally recorded.
Despite its diminutive size, Maggs explained that the vibrant sea slug instantly grabbed her attention, as reported by What’s The Jam.
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.”
After sending images of her remarkable discovery to marine biologists, Maggs was informed it seemed to be a previously undocumented species.
(Image: Jam Press/Maggs Ashton)
She has made subsequent trips back to the wreckage hoping to spot it once more, though without success thus far.
She said: “I’ve actually been back to the wreck to try and see it again, but I can’t find it.
“Hopefully it is just hiding and hasn’t been eaten by a fish.”
Picton suspects the creature may be an unrecorded species within Lomanotus, a genus of sea slug. He explained: “I think it is likely to be an undescribed Lomanotus species.
“In scientific terms, this is significant – an ‘undescribed species’ is one that has never been formally identified, named and documented in the scientific literature.”
There is mystery over the colourful sea slug(Image: Jam Press/Maggs Ashton)
The organisation is now calling on divers, rockpoolers, sailors and fishers to remain vigilant for comparable creatures and submit any photographs to DASSH, its data archive centre.
A spokesperson said that such records assist researchers in developing a more comprehensive understanding of the changes occurring along Britain’s coastline and in its waters as temperatures rise, including observations of “unusual visitors and shifting species ranges”.
The body further noted: “The discovery is another reminder that the marine life around Britain is ever-changing.”
This follows the finding of a scarce depilatory sea hare by young rockpoolers participating in the monthly Rock Pool Project Bioblitz at Mount Batten beach in Plymouth during 2025.
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