‘Soft’ sea creature – with red ‘scaleless’ body — discovered in Japan. See new species
The ocean is home to some of nature’s most beautiful creatures.
Leafy sea dragons have decorative branches extending from their curved bodies. Christmas tree worms make coral reefs look like a scene from Whoville. Even Crowntail betta fish look like they belong to an aquatic royal family with long, colorful fins.
The same can’t be said for the snailfish.
Best described as something that lands in your tissue after a bloody nose, snailfish leave something to be desired.
Their “tadpole-shaped body” and “soft scaleless skin,” might not stand out to the untrained angler, but to a group of researchers off the coast of Japan, they were eye-catching.
The team was surveying the waters around Honshu Island when the small, red fish appeared in their nets, according to a study published in the journal Species Diversity on April 4.
The shape of the fish made it clear they belonged to the snailfish family, but they were considerably smaller and had a solid body color compared to the variegated color the researchers expected.
The researchers took a closer look at the number of fins and the fish’s pelvic disk and confirmed their suspicions — it was a new species.
Discover more new species
Thousands of new species are found each year. Here are three of our most eye-catching stories from the past week.
→Volcanic ocean creature — with 'long' legs — discovered in Japan. It's a new species
→'Flat'-headed creature — with multicolored eyes — discovered as new species in China
→Nocturnal creature — a 'rapidly-running' predator — discovered as new species in India
Careproctus io, or Mini-kon’nyakuuo in Japanese, was discovered during multiple trawls around the island in 2020 and again in 2023, according to the study.
The fish has 36 or 37 fins along its back, and 30 rays on the back fin, the researchers said, similar to other snailfish.
However, it is only about 1 1/2 inches long, smaller than other known species.
Its body is “short” and “robust,” and has a “humpbacked” appearance from the side, according to the study.
Pulled from depths of about 1,400 feet, C. io is “bright red,” with “pale pink” limps, snout and fins, the researchers said.
“The specific name is a noun in apposition after Io, a Greek mythological character who wandered the world without rest,” the researchers said, because the fish has an “unsettled” position in the genus’ phylogenetic tree.
Phylogenetic trees are diagrams that help researchers map how species are related to one another. For the snailfish, it’s unclear exactly where the new species fits, making it a “wanderer” of the diagram.
The standard Japanese name, Mini-kon’nyakuuo, comes from the fish’s small size.
The new species is found exclusively on the Pacific coast of Honshu Island, the largest island of Japan, off the coast of Fukushima and Iwate, according to the study.
‘Giant’ creature — with ringed body — discovered in Tanzania. See the new species
‘Erratic’ mountain creature seen leaping across rocks — and discovered as new species
‘Mysterious case’ of stolen bait leads to first-in-a-century discovery in Australia
11-year-old finds bones on UK beach with dad — solving ‘multimillion-year-old jigsaw’
