“Researchers in California have discovered a new species of sea slug off the Pacific coast in an area of deep sea known as the midnight zone.

A team with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute first came across the creature, which they dubbed the ‘mystery mollusc’ in 2000 at 8,576ft (2,613 meters)…

Sea slugs, also called nudibranchs, generally live on the sea floor, but the mystery mollusc is the first documented occupying the deep water column, a large area about 3,300-13,100ft under the surface. The ocean’s deep interior is an unexplored frontier, Robison and Steven Haddock, a senior scientist at the research institute, noted in the publication.

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The creature has a transparent, gelatinous body with a large hood, a flat tail ‘fringed with … finger-like projections’, a foot similar to a snail, and brilliant bioluminescence, according to a statement from the research institute.

Since first observing the sea slug in February 2000 using the institute’s remotely operated vehicle, the team has encountered more than 100 of the creatures. They collected a specimen that allowed them to more closely examine the animal’s anatomy and genetics, confirming it is a new species of sea slug.”

From The Guardian.