Research
A bizarre seahorse relative found in South Australia in 2006 was actually a new genus that has never been seen since
Earth.com · By Adrian Villellas ·
The Brief
- A small orange seahorse lookalike was collected on February 11, 2006, by a dredge near the Gambier Islands at the mouth of Spencer Gulf, South Australia.
- The dredge was at about 50 meters depth, sampling brachiopods for a survey.
- The animal has been identified as a new genus that, according to Earth.com, has not been seen since.
Why it matters
The find adds a previously unrecognised lineage to the seahorse-relative group and shows that undersampled deep-water habitats off southern Australia can still yield new taxa.
Who’s affected
- marine biologists and taxonomists
- researchers studying Australian coastal biodiversity
- #marine biology
- #taxonomy
- #new species
- #seahorses
- #south australia
- #deep-sea sampling
On February 11, 2006, a dredge working near the Gambier Islands, at the mouth of South Australia’s Spencer Gulf, brought up a small orange seahorse lookalike from about 164 feet (50 meters) down. The dredge was sampling brachiopods, small animals with shells, for the Waterhouse…
Timeline
Dredge near the Gambier Islands, Spencer Gulf, collects the specimen at about 50 meters depth
Earth.com
A bizarre seahorse relative found in South Australia in 2006 was actually a new genus that has never been seen since