Deep-sea researchers have helped to make another amazing (and adorable) discovery in waters around 62 miles off the Californian coast.
In 2019, MBARI sent a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) 3,268 metres deep in the Monterey Canyon and came across a cute pink snailfish with big eyes and a tadpole-shaped body with bumps all over swimming just above the seafloor.
Now, collaborators from the State University of New York at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo), the University of Montana and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa have described the charming fish as a bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi). It is one of three new species.
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“MBARI seeks to make ocean exploration more accessible by sharing our data and technology with our peers in the science community,” says Steven Haddock, senior scientist at MBARI who led the research expedition that encountered the bumpy snailfish.
“We welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with researchers from SUNY Geneseo to expand our understanding of life in the deep ocean, especially since documenting deep-sea biodiversity is critical to detecting any changes that may be occurring in this environment.”
MBARI sampled the 9.2cm snail to find out more about it. It wasn’t like other deep-sea snailfishes that they usually find in this region so they got in touch with deep sea expert Mackenzie Gerringer, associate professor at SUNY Geneseo, to help with the analysis.
Working with a team of experts, they determined that the little snailfish as well as two others collected during different expeditions – the dark snailfish (Careproctus yanceyi) and the sleek snailfish (Paraliparis em) – were all new to science. Their findings are published in the scientific journal Ichthyology and Herpetology
“The deep sea is home to an incredible diversity of organisms and a truly beautiful array of adaptations,” says Gerringer. “Our discovery of not one, but three, new species of snailfishes is a reminder of how much we have yet to learn about life on Earth and of the power of curiosity and exploration.”
There are more than 400 different species of snailfishes around the world in both deep and shallow water. With the ocean under threat from climate change, pollution and deep-sea mining, researchers around the world are trying to find out more about these mesmerising creatures – and others like them – before it’s too late.
“Each discovery is a new piece of the puzzle,” says MBARI in a statement
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