Translucent sea creature — pregnant with orange eggs — discovered as new species
On a shallow coral reef in the western Pacific Ocean, a pregnant sea creature went about its day — or tried to. Something about the translucent animal caught the attention of nearby scientists. It turned out to be a new species.
Researchers visited several islands near Papua New Guinea on wildlife surveys between 2012 and 2019, according to a study published Dec. 13 in the journal Zoological Studies. The surveys had a very specific goal: find and identify shrimp.
At a shallow coral reef in the Solomon Islands, researchers found a yellowy shrimp with orange eggs, the study said. They captured the shrimp and several more like it.
Taking a closer look at the animals, researchers realized that they’d discovered a new species: Salmoneus alius, or the alius shrimp.
Alius shrimps are “small-sized,” measuring about a tenth of an inch in length, the study said. They have “robust” claws and “largely translucent” yellow-tinged bodies.
Photos show two alius shrimps. The sea creatures appear sunflower yellow but still see-through. The pregnant shrimp has several orange eggs that look almost like colorful ping pong balls.
Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin adjective “alius,” meaning “another or different,” because it is “yet another new species described in the genus Salmoneus.”
So far, alius shrimps have been found on coral reefs near three islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean: New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, researchers said. These island countries are off the northeast coast of Australia.
The new species was identified by its coloring, body shape and DNA, the study said.
The research team included Hossein Ashrafi, Arthur Anker and Zdeněk Ďuriš. The team also discovered two more new species of Salmoneus shrimp.
This story was originally published January 19, 2024 at 7:51 AM with the headline "Translucent sea creature — pregnant with orange eggs — discovered as new species."
