The Skeleton Panda Sea Squirt: A Quirky Marine Marvel

Basic Information1

• Discovery: First spotted by Japanese scuba divers near Kumejima Island in Okinawa, its photos went viral online around 2017. In 2024, Japanese scientists officially identified it as a new species.
• Name: The genus name "Clavelina" means "little bottle" in Latin, and the species name "ossipandae" means "bones and panda", referring to its bone - like white parts and panda - like black markings.

Appearance Characteristics

• Size: It is less than 2 centimeters long, a tiny creature in the ocean1.
• Color and Shape: The white, bone - like parts are actually blood vessels running horizontally through the sea squirt's gills1. The black markings on the head, resembling a panda's eyes and nose, give it a cute and distinctive look1. Its transparent body, combined with the black - and - white markings, creates an uncanny resemblance to a skeleton, making it both adorable and eerie.

Living Habits1

• Feeding: Like other sea squirts, it is a filter - feeding marine invertebrate. It attaches to substrates such as coral reefs in waters about 20 meters deep and pumps water through a siphon - like structure to filter out nutrients from the water.