Red-eyed sea creature with ‘fang-like’ teeth found on reef. It’s a new species
On a coral reef off the eastern coast of Australia, scuba divers set up a tent-like trap in hopes of collecting some easily overlooked marine life. The approach worked and caught a red-eyed sea creature with “fang-like” teeth.
It turned out to be a new species.
A team of scientists visited dozens of sites in the Coral Sea in 2019 and 2020 to survey “small cryptobenthic fish communities” as part of a larger project on coral reef health, according to a study published Sept. 4 in the peer-reviewed journal Fishes.
At each site, scuba divers “enclosed a reef outcrop” with a mosquito net to prevent “fish from escaping” and potential predators from swooping, according to a 2022 study about the project. Next, they covered the net with a “tent flysheet” then sprayed a mixture of clove bud oil and ethanol under the tarp. The solution euthanized the fish trapped inside within about two minutes. Finally, the divers “removed the enclosure and rolled back the netting while collecting all fishes” and took them to a nearby research vessel.
Later, while sifting through their collections, researchers noticed three unfamiliar-looking fish, the 2025 study said. Intrigued, they examined the animals, analyzed their DNA and realized they’d discovered a new species: Pascua marecoralliensis, or the Coral Sea Pascua goby.
Coral Sea Pascua gobies are considered small, reaching about half an inch in length, the study said. They have “compressed” heads with “large” red eyes and “slanted” mouths with several “fang-like” teeth.
Photos show the “unique” coloring of the new species. The fish are “primarily pale tan with a series of pink/orange marks” on their sides, researchers said.
Coral Sea Pascua gobies were found on a reef at a depth of about 36 feet, the study said. Much about their lifestyles and behavior remains unknown.
One Coral Sea Pascua goby had “several fish scales” in its gut, researchers said. These scales “were likely bitten off a whole fish by deliberate predation prior to collection,” suggesting the new species eats more than just small crustaceans and engages in “opportunistic feeding.”
Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin words for “coral” and “sea” after the area where it was first discovered and, so far, the only place where it has been found. The Coral Sea is off the northeastern coast of Australia.
The new species was identified by its DNA, bone structure, body proportions, fin shape, head shape, coloring and other subtle physical features, the study said.
The research team included Christopher Goatley, Andrea Varela, Javier Sellanes and Luke Tornabene.
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 7:09 AM with the headline "Red-eyed sea creature with ‘fang-like’ teeth found on reef. It’s a new species."
