Mysterious alien-like creature spotted in this deep sea footage - but what is it?
FROM THE MIRROR:With its otherworldy two heads, you might be forgiven for thinking this two-headed neon slug is an alien lifeform - but it's actually just been discovered right here on earth.
Divers have revealed what they believe to be the first ever two-headed sea slug, and it's a pretty weird-looking creature.
The nudibranch - a soft-bodied, marine gastropod mollusk - was discovered by a diver and a team of film-makers at Kapalai, a sandbar off the coast of Sabah in eastern Malaysian Borneo.
Warning signs: The animal is commonly known as a variable neon slug due to its incredible colouring of neon green and bright orange
They found that, as well as having two heads, the slug also possesses both female and male sex organs, as all nudibranchs are hermaphrodites.
This particular slug measured around 25mm long, but this species of psychedelic sea slug can grow up to 120mm.
The nudibranch is part of the species nembrotha kubaryana, but is more commonly known as a variable neon slug due to its incredible colouring of neon green and bright orange which warns predators of their toxicity.
Hidden gem: The creature was discovered at Kapalai, a sandbar near Bornea
They are capable of removing chemical compounds from sea squirts and storing them, then exuding them as a slimy mucus when they're threatened by predators.
The discovery was made by the divemaster at Scuba Junkie, Nash Baiti.
On location with leading underwater filmmaking company Scubazoo and their presenter Aaron "Bertie" Gekoski and director Will Foster-Grundy, they were filming their new online series Borneo from Below.
Mighty hermaphrodite: As well as two heads, the slug also has both female and male sex organs
The crew worked with Clay Bryce, a nudibranch expert and marine biologist at the Western Australian Museum in Perth.
He said: "I have never seen another two headed marine creature like this before and I have spent 10,000 hours underwater chasing nudibranchs.
"Usually this sort of deformity sets the animal up for an early death, but it does appear to be adult or at least subadult so perhaps this is a case of two heads being better than one.
Warning signs: The animal is commonly known as a variable neon slug due to its incredible colouring of neon green and bright orange
"It is a birth defect. Just a slight mix up of genes or perhaps damage caused by pollution. However, the latter one would expect more incidences to have occurred.
Borneo From Below showcases some of the island's most interesting underwater inhabitants but even the crew admitted that never in their wildest dreams did they expect to unearth such an unusual animal.
Bertie said: "When Nash came back from the dive and reported his findings we didn't believe him at first! Due to our film schedule we couldn't get out there for another 72 hours, so were very sceptical that it would be found again.
Hidden gem: The creature was discovered at Kapalai, a sandbar near Bornea
They are capable of removing chemical compounds from sea squirts and storing them, then exuding them as a slimy mucus when they're threatened by predators.
The discovery was made by the divemaster at Scuba Junkie, Nash Baiti.
On location with leading underwater filmmaking company Scubazoo and their presenter Aaron "Bertie" Gekoski and director Will Foster-Grundy, they were filming their new online series Borneo from Below.
Mighty hermaphrodite: As well as two heads, the slug also has both female and male sex organs
The crew worked with Clay Bryce, a nudibranch expert and marine biologist at the Western Australian Museum in Perth.
He said: "I have never seen another two headed marine creature like this before and I have spent 10,000 hours underwater chasing nudibranchs.
"Usually this sort of deformity sets the animal up for an early death, but it does appear to be adult or at least subadult so perhaps this is a case of two heads being better than one.
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