The leaf sheep, a neon green, solar-powered slug known scientifically as Costasiella kuroshimae, has been named the winner of the Invertebrate of the Year 2026 competition. The slug, which lives underwater, triumphed in a global ballot conducted by the Guardian.
Broadcaster and environmental campaigner Chris Packham described the leaf sheep as "very, very beautiful but also very smart too," noting its ability to harvest photosynthetic material from algae and construct its own solar panels. The competition, now in its third year, aims to celebrate often overlooked invertebrates.
The leaf sheep, which is the size of a grain of rice and lives in tropical waters around Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, secured its win in a closer contest than previous years. It surpassed the world's largest bumblebee, the moscardón (Bombus dahlbomii), which finished second, and the horseshoe crab, which came in third.