The discovery of a distinctive sea slug off Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) in Pingtung County is shedding light on climate change, a scientist said.
Although Glaucus atlanticus, the only member of the genus Glaucus, is usually found in tropical areas, it had never previously been spotted in Taiwanese waters.
Wang Tien-cheng (王添正), a bed-and-breakfast owner and tour guide, noticed a group of about 60 Glaucus atlanticus near the Duozaiping intertidal zone (肚仔坪潮間帶), while taking some customers on a tour.
Photo: Courtesy of Lo Liu-chih
The 37-year-old Wang also has 11 years of experience guiding underwater snorkeling tours and he often posts pictures of the scenic beauty of the island on his Facebook page.
After giving some of the slugs to Lo Liu-chih (羅柳墀), an assistant professor at National Kaohsiung Normal University’s department of geography, Lo’s research team confirmed that it was the first time Glaucus atlanticus had been seen in the Siaoliouciou area.
Announcing the discovery on Sunday, Lo said that Glaucus atlanticus was first discovered in 1777 by European academics.
Pointing to the slug’s three pairs of symmetrical, protruding hand-like limbs, as well as its vibrant blue tail, Lo said these feature has contributed to the origin of the slug’s name.
The Europeans who discovered the sea slug felt it resembled Glaucus, a fisherman in Greek mythology who after ingesting a magical herb which could bring fish back to life, became immortal and grew fins in place of his arms and legs, according to Roman poet Ovid.
Lo said warming seawater caused by climate change could explain the northward migration of Glaucus atlanticus, but he added that an abundance of Portuguese man-o’-war — the sea slugs favored prey along with velella, a type of jellyfish — in the waters around Siaoliouciou could also account for the presence of the sea slug.
Glaucus atlanticus are immune to the man-o’-war venom and they even have an organ which allows them to store the venom, giving the sea slugs the ability to deal a far stronger sting than the man-o’-war,
Lo warned that any observation of the slug should be done with extreme caution.
Lo also said people should avoid coming into physical contact with the slug and added that Glaucus atlanticus is not edible.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS