No, the Leaf Sheep Sea Slug Is Not an AI Hallucination

Named after Shaun the Sheep, the leaf sheep sea slug is an itty-bitty organism that feasts on algae. Brandi Mueller / Getty Images

This adorable sea slug (also called a leaf slug or sea sheep) is one of the most unique examples of marine life on Earth. Similar to mollusks and other nudibranch species, these little guys spend most of their lives crawling slowly along the sea floor in warm, shallow waters without a care in the world.

We'll be honest: The leaf sheep sea slug (Costasiella kuroshimae) may become your new favorite marine animal to gush about to your friends.

Contents

What Do Leaf Sheep Sea Slugs Look Like?
Where Do Leaf Slugs Live?
What Do Leaf Sheep Sea Slugs Eat?

What Do Leaf Sheep Sea Slugs Look Like?

nudibranch — This tiny animal is begging for its own cartoon series. Aleksei Permiakov / Getty Images

Costasiella kuroshimae are often compared to the claymation classic TV character Shaun the Sheep, thanks to their two dark eyes and relatively large "ears" that stick out from their cute, cartoonish heads.

The rest of the sea slug's body is covered in blue and green leaf-like cerata that help it feed and blend into its environment for better camouflage and survival against would-be predators.

Where Do Leaf Slugs Live?

Scientists discovered these minuscule creatures in 1993 on the Japanese island of Kiroshima. You may wonder how these bright and colorful sea slugs remained undiscovered for so long until you learn that they only grow to about a quarter-inch (8 mm) long.

Leaf sheep sea slugs only live along the coast of very few islands on the planet, including Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines. They typically stay in intertidal zones, covered during high tides and exposed during low tides.

What Do Leaf Sheep Sea Slugs Eat?

These creatures definitely earn the "sheep" nickname since they graze lazily on whatever food sources are the easiest to acquire. Fine hairs that lay at the end of their ear-like rhinophores help them track down algae and chloroplasts.

Leaf sheep sea slugs are some of the few animals on the planet that can perform photosynthesis — a process for creating energy from sunlight, typically reserved only for plants. They perform this minor miracle through a process called kleptoplasty (a Greek word meaning "thief").