Marine biologists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Western Australia Museum have made a surprising discovery in the waters off the coast of Western Australia – only the third known species of seadragon, and the first to be discovered in 150 years.
The Ruby Seadragon (Phyllopteryx dewysea). Image credit: Western Australian Museum.
Using DNA and anatomical research tools, the scientists found evidence for the new species while analyzing tissue samples of a specimen collected in 2007.
“We’re now in a golden age of taxonomy and these powerful DNA tools are making it possible for more new species than ever to be discovered. That such large charismatic marine species are still being found is evidence that there is still much to be done. This latest finding provides further proof of the value of scientific collections and museum holdings,” said Dr Greg Rouse of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who is the senior author of a paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
“The holotype specimen was trawled east of the remote Recherche Archipelago in 51 m, additional specimens extend the distribution west to Perth in 72 m,” the scientists wrote in the paper.
The color of the specimen was a bright shade of red and vastly different from the orange tint in Leafy Seadragons (Phycodurus eques) and the yellow and purple hues of Common Seadragons (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus).
The scientists believe the species’ coloring suggests it inhabits deeper waters than the Leafy and Common Seadragons, as the red shading would be absorbed at depth and effectively serve as camouflage.
They gave their new discovery the name Phyllopteryx dewysea, also referred to as the Ruby Seadragon.
“A CT scan gave us 5,000 X-ray slices that we were able to assemble into a rotating 3-D model of the new seadragon,” said lead author Josefin Stiller, a graduate student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
“We could then see several features of the skeleton that were distinct from the other two species, corroborating the genetic evidence.”
“It has been 150 years since the last seadragon was described and all this time we thought that there were only two species,” said co-author Dr Nerida Wilson of the Western Australia Museum.
“Suddenly, there is a third species! If we can overlook such a charismatic new species for so long, we definitely have many more exciting discoveries awaiting us in the oceans.”
_____
Josefin Stiller et al. A spectacular new species of seadragon (Syngnathidae). Royal Society Open Science, published online February 18, 2015; doi: 10.1098/rsos.140458
