‘Dragon’-like sea creature pulled from depths off New Zealand. It’s a new species
Off the coast of New Zealand, scientists aboard a research vessel hauled in their nets. Caught inside was a “dragon”-like sea creature.
It turned out to be a new species.
Christopher Kenaley came across an unfamiliar-looking fish from 1976 while doing research for a project on fish diversity in New Zealand. The specimen intrigued him but wasn’t part of his project when he found it in 2008, according to a study published May 27 in the peer-reviewed journal Zootaxa.
Eight years later, scientists captured a second similar-looking fish, the study said. This time, the “dragon”-like sea creature became part of Kenaley’s work.
Researchers studied the pair of deep-sea fish and realized they’d discovered a new species: Eustomias (Nominostomias) robertsi, or Roberts’ dragonfish.
Roberts’ dragonfish can reach just over 9 inches in length, the study said. It has a “pronounced” snout, “large” eyes and fangs. Its skin is a “uniform black” color dotted with light-emitting organs known as photophores.
A photo shows a freshly caught Roberts’ dragonfish. Its body has a long, skinny shape similar to an eel. A long whisker, or barbel, hangs off its lower jaw and extends most of the length of its body.
One Roberts’ dragonfish was found pregnant, the study said. The new species lives in the deep sea and is able to glow, but very little is known about its lifestyle.
Researchers said they named the new species after Clive Roberts, “the former Curator of Fishes at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.” Roberts led a “20-year project to describe the fish fauna of New Zealand” resulting in a series of books on the subject.
So far, only two Roberts’ dragonfish have been found, both in the “Tonga Trench region of the western South Pacific Ocean,” the study said.
The new species was identified by its coloring, proportions, body shape and other subtle physical features, the study said. Researchers did not provide a DNA analysis of the new species.
The research team included Andrew Stewart, Christopher Kenaley and Tracy Sutton.
This story was originally published June 2, 2024 at 7:00 AM with the headline "‘Dragon’-like sea creature pulled from depths off New Zealand. It’s a new species."
