(C) BoingBoing
This story was originally published by BoingBoing and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Leaf sheep: the adorable sea slug that looks like a tiny succulent and can photosynthesize [1]

[]

Date: 2025-06-26

The leaf sheep is an adorable sea creature that looks like part sheep, part fairy tale. Despite the name (in case you were fooled), leaf sheep are actually sacoglossan sea slugs — tiny marine mollusks, not mammals. Leaf sheep are one of the few animals that can photosynthesize using chloroplasts from the algae they eat, a process called kleptoplasty ("stealing chloroplasts").

First found near Kuroshima Island, Japan, Lead Sheep have also been spotted in the Philippines and Indonesia. With their white, chubby faces and leafy green cerata (spike-like appendages), they look like a sheep made of succulents or a Pokémon you want to pet. Leaf sheep only grow to about 5 mm long, so you could fit one on your fingertip.

Their cuteness, tiny size, and sci-fi biology have made Leaf Sheep a favorite among marine biologists, artists, and meme-makers alike. Now that they're on my radar, these creatures are one of my favorites, too. Hooray for leaf sheep!

See also: Are humans about to outnumber sheep in New Zealand?

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/06/26/leaf-sheep-the-adorable-sea-slug-that-looks-like-a-tiny-succulent-and-can-photosynthesize.html

Published and (C) by BoingBoing
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/boingboing/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.