Balasore, Feb 29: The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has discovered a new species of head-shield sea slug from Odisha-West Bengal coast.
The new species has been named – Melanochlamys Droupadi after President of India Droupadi Murmu, said Director of ZSI Dhriti Banerjee.
The head-shield sea slug with a ruby red spot was found along the three-km stretch from the low inter-tidal zones of Digha (WB) and Udaypur (Odisha) coast. The new species, distinct from others of the same genus, inhabits wet and soft sandy beaches.
Zoologists and researchers of ZSI led by Prasad Chandra Tudu of Marine Aquarium and Regional Centre spotted the species crawling on the inter-tidal zone during a routine study of marine species at Hospital Ghat near Old Digha, about 50 metre away from the centre.
The species was confirmed after thorough examination of morphological, anatomical and molecular characteristics. The head-shield sea slug is a small invertebrate with a maximum length up to seven mm, brownish black in colour with a ruby red spot in the hind end. It is hermaphrodite and has a shell inside the body.
