Tiny sesame seed-sized sea slug discovered in Taiwan waters

Two individuals of Thecacera sesama feeding on a bryozoan. PIC COURTESY/Ho-Yeung Chan

A newly identified species of sea slug, so small that it is barely larger than a sesame seed, has been discovered in the coastal waters of Keelung, Taiwan.

The tiny marine animal, named Thecacera sesama, features a translucent body decorated with distinctive black and yellow markings.

Researchers chose the name after the creature's resemblance to a sesame seed. According to the team, "Taiwanese divers call it ‘sesame' in Chinese, and it is also small like a sesame seed, hence the name."

Measuring less than 3 mm long, the nudibranch was first encountered in 2019 during a recreational dive. At the time, it wasn't seen as a new species.

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