‘Large’ sea creature — with ‘huge’ head and ‘long’ tail — discovered as new species
Off the coast of Japan, a “long”-tailed sea creature swam through the depths — or at least, it tried to. Something caught the “large” animal and pulled it to the surface.
It turned out to be a new species.
The almost 3-foot-long fish was caught off Ie Island in 2011 and donated to a museum, according to a study published May 24 in the peer-reviewed journal Ichthyological Research. For years, the specimen went largely unnoticed.
When a team of researchers eventually took a look at the fish, they realized they’d discovered a new species: Chimaera stellata, or the stellated chimaera.
The stellated chimaera is considered “large-sized,” the study said. It has a “stocky” body and “long, whip-like” tail. Its “huge” head has a “short” snout and “large” eyes.
.jpg "28964(preseved).jpg")
A photo shows the “walnut brown” coloring of a stellated chimaera. The fish has a “silvery tinge” and “numerous white spots,” the study said.
Researchers said they named the new species after the Latin word “stellata,” meaning starry, because of its “body coloration resembling a scattering of stars.”
So far, the new species is known from a single specimen caught off Ie Island, the study said. Part of the Okinawa Islands group, this small and remote island is about 1,000 miles southwest of Tokyo and roughly midway between mainland Japan and Taiwan.
The new species was identified by its size, body shape, fins, coloring and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least about 5% genetic divergence from other chimaera species.
The research team included Akinori Teramura, Hiroshi Senou and Shotaro Hirase.
This story was originally published June 11, 2024 at 11:33 AM with the headline "‘Large’ sea creature — with ‘huge’ head and ‘long’ tail — discovered as new species."
