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
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard