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A newly-found type of sea slug has been identified by zoologists in eastern India and was named in honor of the nation’s leader.
The Melanochlamys Droupadi marine slug, named after Indian president Droupadi Murmu, has a brownish-black color with a ruby red spot and can reach a maximum length of seven millimeters.
Scientists from the ZSI discovered the slug in the low intertidal areas of eastern India’s West Bengal and Odisha, covering a distance of 3km.
The researchers gathered approximately 150 samples from the eastern shoreline of the Bay of Bengal and a comprehensive molecular examination validated the unique classification of the species.
The researchers stated that they gathered all the examples from the shoreline of Digha, West Bengal, and the shoreline of Udaipur, Odisha state, located along the north-western region of the Bay of Bengal.
Sea slugs inhabit various marine environments, ranging from shallow intertidal areas to the deep sea, and can be found in both polar and tropical regions around the world.
These creatures consume smaller sea slugs, marine worms, and small fish in addition to other species of smaller sea slugs.
The recently found head-shield sea slug is a tiny organism with an internal shell and exhibits hermaphroditic characteristics, possessing both male and female reproductive organs.
Digha, Odisha is home to a species of sea slug with a distinctive head shield.
“According to researchers, this is the second species discovered in the Indian region and the third species that inhabits tropical regions. Currently, there are 18 known species of sea slugs worldwide.”
The study’s lead author Prasad Chandra Tudu from ZSI reportedly comes from the same part of India as the president and hence decided to name the sea slug in Ms Murmu’s honour.
According to Dr Tudu, as scientists, we have the liberty to give names to the species we uncover. He chose to name the species after the president, who also originates from the Rairangpur area of Mayurbhanj, as a tribute to her new position of power. This was reported by the Hindustan Times.
On Tuesday, the results were released in the publication Mollusca Research.
Source: independent.co.uk
