Tiny creatures with translucent bodies found in CA waters. See the new species
They're sea slugs, part of the Dotidae family. And while they're small — measuring less than a quarter of an inch — they can have an outsize impact, according to a researcher who studies them.
'Nudibranchs,' or sea slugs, 'are indicators of healthy ecosystems and sentinels of telling us about the impacts of climate change,' Terrence Gosliner, senior curator of invertebrate zoology and geology at the California Academy of Sciences, told McClatchy News in an April 3 email.
They're also important for biomedical research, he said, noting that some of their natural chemicals 'have been the source of new pharmaceutical products that have been important in combating cancers and HIV.'
Gosliner published a study throughout describing the new species on March 24 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa. The research team also included Sneha Adayapalam, Lynn J. Bonomo and Carissa Shipman.
Translucent bodies
The two new species are called Doto urak and Doto kwakwak, according to the study.
They're both translucent white and have visible cream colored ovotestis, or reproductive organs, the study said.
A distinctive Doto urak feature is its 'salmon pink to orange color' cerata, or external back structures, with egg-shaped tubercles, the study said.
Its species name was inspired by that feature, coming 'from the southern Ohlone word for salmon,' the study said, noting that the Ohlone 'were the original inhabitants of much of the range of this species.'
That range is known to be from San Diego to Humboldt counties, according to the study.
Doto kwakwak's distinguishing feature is its 'saffron yellowish orange spots, some of which have irregular borders and are slightly raised,' the study said.
It gets its species name 'from the Kumeyaay indigenous name kwakwak, meaning yellow, signifying the yellow-orange spots,' according to the study, which noted that 'the Kumeyaay are the original inhabitants of the region around the type locality in San Diego County.'
'Team effort'
Naturalists Chloe and Trevor Van Loon found the only documented specimen of the Doto kwakwak in La Jolla in 2022, according to the study. In an entry on iNaturalist, cited in the study, they pointed out the creature's 'orange flecks' and noted it was between 0.20 and 0.24 inches and discovered on red algae.
Researchers used multiple Doto urak specimens from the California coast, the study said.
Gosliner said 'many enthusiastic citizen scientists' helped bring the new species to light through their observations.
He also noted that 'the first author of the paper, Sneha Adayapalam, worked with me when she was a high school student to conduct the laboratory work that established the genetic distinction of these two species.'
The work, he said, 'was a team effort.'
And it's valuable, he said, as 'documenting new biodiversity tells us how little we know about life on our planet.'
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