Deep-sea creature — with bright orange body — discovered off Japan. It’s a new species
Aboard the Yokosuka cruise, a group of researchers ventured out to sea off the southern coast of Japan.
They were headed to the Amami Rift hydrothermal vent field, an area where extremely hot water heated by magma bursts from the sea floor, creating a hostile environment, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a study published Oct. 15 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.
The researchers climbed into the Shinkai 6500, a “human-occupied vehicle,” and descended more than 2,000 feet until they reached the bottom, according to the study.
Ahead of them, the dark landscape was broken up by spots of orange.
Researchers used a suction tool attached to the vessel to collect the brightly colored spots, and a small shrimp was carried back to the surface, according to the study.
The “robustly built” animal appeared different from other shrimp and was identified as a new species, researchers said.
Lebbeus parvirostris has an “orange-red” body and legs, with the only deviation in color coming in its cornea, a brown color, according to the study.
The shrimp’s name comes from the Latin words “parvus,” meaning small or short, and “rostris,” meaning front, which refers to the relatively short rostrum, or pointed end of the head portion of the shrimp, researchers said.
Females of the species are “much smaller” than males, researchers said, and are missing a “pterygostomial tooth,” something all other related species have.
Their uniform body color also separates them from other related shrimp species, some of which have red or blue bands and yellow accent colors, according to the study.
Hydrothermal vents were first discovered in 1977 near the Galapagos Islands and have since been studied because of their extreme temperatures and nutrient-rich water, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The vents serve as “natural plumbing systems” for the planet, and the nutrients pumped into the water support a large variety of sea creatures, including shrimp, according to the institution and NOAA.
The Amami Rift is off the southwest coast of Japan, just north of the island of Amami Ōshima.
The research team includes Tomoyuki Komai and Chong Chen.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 9:12 AM with the headline "Deep-sea creature — with bright orange body — discovered off Japan. It’s a new species."
