Who knew slugs could be CUTE?

22.07.2015 12:30

If you were asked to name cute animals, it’s unlikely slugs would be high on the list but one mollusc could be about to change your mind.

The Jorunna parva is a species of slug that has been described as a ‘sea bunny’ because of its resemblance to cute baby rabbits.

Now footage from a diving school has captured these 2cm-long, fluffy-looking underwater creatures off the coast of Japan.

The Jorunna genus was first described in 1845, but the parva species wasn’t identified until 1938 by Japanese malacologist Kikutaro Baba.

The genus appears across Japan, the Philippines and Seychelles and each of the 27 species in the genus are known as nudibranchs - soft-bodied, marine gastropod molluscs.

The footage was originally captured by Japan-based Dive Store Exiles in the Kumomi region of the country in March last year, but it started trending on Twitter over the weekend.

‘Kumomi boasts one of the best natural landscapes on the Izu Peninsula,’ said the school.

‘It is famous for its complex and rich underwater terrain including the sea slug and is known as "jewel of the sea".

Twitter users compared the slugs to Pokemon’s Pikachu, while others admitted to being in love with the slugs and described them as ‘mochi seasoned with sesame and bunny ears!’

Mochi is a form of Japanese rice cake.

The video described the sea slugs as ‘gomafu’ and the full Japanese name for the creatures is ‘gomafu biroodo umiushi.’

This translates to ‘black speckled velvet sea slug.’

Jorunna parva is covered in tiny, so-called caryophyllidia - small, sensory bumps, or tubercles, surrounded by need-like spicules.

The majority of these are small and cover the slug’s outer mantel, but larger ones resemble leaves, or ears.

Most parva are varying shades of yellow and brown but those shown in the video are white with patches of black caryophyllidia.

(dailymail.co.uk)

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