Most people aren’t fans of slugs until they encounter a “leaf sheep.” And this cartoonish sea slug is too cute to be real!
These amazingly tiny creatures—just 0.2 to 0.4 inches long—found along the coasts of Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, have faces that look remarkably like cartoon sheep. They’ve also earned the nickname “leaf sheep” or “leaf slugs”.
Peer at one of these glowing curiosities up close and you’ll see a pair of dark beady eyes and two rhinophores (antennae-like scent and taste receptors) that together look distinctly sheep-like. Combined with a coat of leaf-like plumage known as cerata, it’s no wonder admirers prefer “leaf sheep” to their rather less catchy official name, Costasiella kuroshimae….