A newrecorded species was discovered at the Dongsha Atoll National Park. Ercolania subviridis, a type of sea slugjust 0.2 ~ 0.3cm in length, was founding living in chaetomorpha algae. The Ercolania subviridis was first reportedby Professor Kikutaro Baba of Japanin 1959. In September of this year, a research team led by Assistant ProfessorYuh-wen Chiu from the Faculty of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biologyat the Kaohsiung MedicalUniversity documented its presence inthe chaetomorpha algae on Dongsha Island. Ercolania subviridis has a similarmorphology to the Placida dendritica, but is identifiable by aheart-shaped red mark at the anterior end of the pericardial prominence. Ercolania subviridis feeds primarily onchaetomorpha algae. A clog-shaped radula is used to drill open the cell walls,and ingested chlorophyll is distributed through its branched digestive tract tothe surface of the body to carry out its photosynthesis functions. The newrecord extends the worldwide distribution of this species to the south by asignificant distance.

Ercolania subviridis under the microscope / Photo by Chun-yih Su The red marking on the anterior end of the pericardial prominence / Photo by Yen-min Huang