One such surprise was thrown by a colourful sea slug — Goniobranchus trimarginatus — which was spotted in Nariman Point in December by a marine biologist.
Regular walks along Mumbai's shores by marine enthusiasts have been proving fruitful as more and more marine species are getting documented. One such surprise was thrown by a colourful sea slug — Goniobranchus trimarginatus — which was spotted in Nariman Point in December by few marine enthusiasts.
Sea slugs are marine species that lack shell and are usually brightly coloured. These are known to creep along the bottom or cling to submerged vegetation, usually in water just below the low tide line, however very little study has been done on these sea slugs.
"Actually it gave us two surprises — the first being that it had not been documented since it was documented by R Winkworth in 1946 from Mumbai; secondly, as per old documentation sea slugs are usually spotted between March to May, but it was spotted at Marine Drive near Ambassador Hotel in the month of December," said Abhishek Satam, a researcher who was one of the person who also documented it on December 24, during a photography walk.
This sea slug was first seen by a local fishermen Joyel who showed it to Samuel Prakash who alerted Satam while all of them were walking along the coast to photograph marine species.
After taking images of it, Satam referred to the book on sea slugs written by Dr Deepak Apte, Director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and even consulted Apte as well as Pradip Patade, the founder of Marine Life of Mumbai (MLOM). "When I discussed about this slug with Apte, he told me it is hard to come by in December," said Satam, stating how it was also surprising to find the 30 mm slug at a location that sees high human disturbance and is also located close to a point where effluents are discharged.
Meanwhile, Patade who started the trend of citizen walks and documentation of marine species along the shores of Mumbai, said that he is delighted that more and more people are now finding time to walk along the coast and observe and document newer, rarer marine species. "Till date, MLOM has documented more than 20 sea slugs from Mumbai, some of which, like another sea slug called bombayana, were never documented," informed Patade. He added that such documentations by Satam and other members of MLOM will prove very crucial in proving that marine life has not been wiped out of Mumbai, but only ignored.
Goniobranchus trimarginatus fact:
- Species of colourful sea slug that has a translucent white mantle covered with small irregular red spots and patches.
- At the edge of the mantle, a dense band of white glands show through the skin and the mantle is edged with three thin bands, yellow, wine red, and then at the extreme edge, another thin white band.
- The gills and rhinophore clubs are translucent white with opaque white edging. The body reaches a length of 30 mm.
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