Falmouth beaches rock pooling rainbow sea slug found

Vicky Barlow, a safari guide at The Rock Pool Project, found the exotic looking sea creature while scouring rock pools during a community wildlife event.

Officially known as Babakina anadoni, the sea slug is a member of the aeolid nudibranch family, and is characterised by its bright colours and unusual form.

Rainbow sea slugs are typically found in warmer waters, in areas off the coast of Spain, Portugal and France. However, the first UK sighting occurred in August 2022, by a diver off the Isles of Scilly.

According to the Rock Pool Project, an initiative supportive by The National Lottery, this is may be the first time this species has been found by a rock pooler in the UK.

Vicky Barlow found the slug whilst rock pooling (Image: Vicky Barlow)

Barlow spotted the unusual creature while searching the stretch of rock pools visible at low tide between Castle Beach and Gyllyngvase Beach at low tide.

After finding a large edible crab, a green sea urchin and multiple cushion stars, the rainbow slug was her last find of the day.

“When you have been rock pooling as much as I have been in the last year, you start to get an eye for which rocks are most likely to have something interesting underneath. The last rock I picked up was exactly one of these," she said.

“It was quite a large, heavy rock, covered in various seaweeds, and once lifted something extremely bright and unusual caught my eye. Once delicately placed in a pot to view, the beautiful animal unfurled and revealed itself in full technicolour.”

Barlow volunteers at community interest company, The Rock Pool Project, on its monthly ‘Blue Recovery’ Beach Days. Vicky has recently qualified as a rock pool safari guide and helps local people and tourists to discover Falmouth’s amazing rock pool wildlife.

Rainbow sea slug close up (Image: Vicky Barlow)

Thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Blue Recovery helps hundreds of local people to explore, understand and care for their local wildlife and coastline in Falmouth and Plymouth.

The project takes people with little or no rock pooling experience, such as Vicky when she first joined last year, and trains them to become ‘citizen scientists’, who regularly enjoy local marine wildlife and work together to learn more about it. The project is currently focusing on the impact of sewage pollution.

Adults and families from Falmouth and Plymouth enjoy free, expert-led rock pooling events, receive citizen science training and experience the freedom that comes with participating in a rock pool ramble with friends at their local beach. In partnership with The Marine Biological Association, all the data collected contributes to local conservation research.

Dr Ben Holt, CEO of The Rock Pool Project, urged more local residents to get involved in Blue Recovery days.

"Every time we go rock pooling we find some incredible wildlife and this discovery is extra special. It is no surprise that Vicky was the one to find it, as she has been truly amazing since she started rock pooling with us last year via our Blue Recovery project.

“It is a reminder that we have precious local marine wildlife that we need to protect. We are currently people in Falmouth and Plymouth to join our citizen science programme, which is researching the impact of sewage spills on our coastal wildlife and I encourage people to visit our website to get involved."

Rainbow sea slug close up (Image: Vicky Barlow)

Fran Geall's, Ecotourism Coordinator a the Rock Pool Project, added: "Since Vicky began volunteering with the rock pool project it became clear she had a natural gift for finding species as well as their identification.

“I was desperate to recruit her for the rock pool safaris! She is truly exceling as one of our new guides, offering our customers amazing experiences with her unique and beautiful finds."

Visit the Rock Pool Project’s Eventbrite page to see the latest Blue Recovery events.