Latest news with #ZooKeys
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
Stinging creature found waiting to attack prey in Mexico. It's a new species
In a forest of western Mexico, a stinging creature tucked itself into an 'abandoned' burrow and waited for some unsuspecting prey to come along. Its eight eyes scanned the landscape, but it wasn't the only one searching. Visiting scientists found the lurking animal — and discovered a new species. A team of researchers decided to survey the arachnid diversity at Estación de Biología Chamela, 'one of the largest areas devoted to the preservation and study of tropical dry forest biodiversity on the central Pacific coast,' André Felipe de Araujo Lira and Edmundo González-Santillán wrote in a study published June 27 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys. Researchers suspected the area had some diverse scorpions so they conducted nighttime surveys using ultraviolet lights and combed the archives for previously collected specimens, the study said. In total, they tracked down dozens of scorpion specimens. A few of the scorpions caught their attention. These animals didn't quite match any known species, the study said. The team took a closer look and soon realized it had discovered a new species: Mesomexovis caxcan, or the Caxcan scorpion. Caxcan scorpions have bumpy, hairy bodies that can reach just over 2 inches long, researchers said. They have eight eyes, pincers and a stinger. Photos show the orange-brown coloring of the new species. Its back has several black markings, and its stinger is reddish-orange. Caxcan scorpions were found under rocks, stones and rotten logs in a forest, the study said. Some females were found 'using abandoned burrows' to sit and wait for prey to attack. Males were more active 'during the rainy season and thus are easily spotted during the night using ultraviolet detection.' Researchers said they named the new species after the Caxcan, 'one of the original nomadic groups of Chichimeca peoples that occupied the arid land of northern Mexico.' So far, Caxcan scorpions have been found at several sites in the neighboring states of Jalisco and Colima along Mexico's Pacific coast, the study said. The new species was identified by its DNA, size, body proportions, texture, coloring and other subtle physical features, the study said.
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
Fanged ocean creature ID'd as new species 38 years after being caught in Somalia
In 1986 off the coast of Somalia, a fishing vessel hauled in a strange-looking creature. For nearly 40 years it sat in a museum collection unidentified — until now. Researchers have determined it to be a new species of slender barracudina named Stemonosudis adenensis, and to date, it is the only one that's ever been caught, according to a study published June 12 in the journal ZooKeys. The new species, described from the single well-preserved specimen caught in the Gulf of Aden 38 years ago, is relatively short and slender with a long head, a large mouth and two small fangs, according to the study. With the exception of a single row of scales, it's body is scaleless, researchers said. Its coloration when alive is unknown, but is assumed by researchers to be uniformly brown. The specimen was a female with eggs, measuring just over 7 inches long, according to the study. 'Despite examining many specimens in collections from around the world and consulting the results of recent surveys in the Western Indian Ocean we found no other specimens exhibiting the same characteristics as S. adenensis,' researchers said. Current 'hostilities in the Gulf of Aden,' will likely hinder attempts to locate more of the species where it was initially discovered, researchers said. The research team included Hsuan-Ching Ho and Tsung-Yu Yang.
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Science
- Miami Herald
Red-eyed creature — with ‘needle-like' teeth — is a new species on Japan reef
In the shallow reefs off the coast of southwestern Japan, a small fish scuttles along the rocky seafloor. With colors that blend into the bright coral of the reef, it's just waiting for the opportunity to use its sharp teeth to catch prey. The animal is a lizardfish, part of the fish family Synodontidae, and known for their mottled coloration, lizard-like heads and carnivorous diet. It's also a species new to science. Synodus autumnus, or the autumn lizardfish (Iroha-eso in Japanese), derives its name from its warm-toned coloration, reminiscent of the time when leaves turn orange, yellow and red in the fall, also known as 'iroha' in Japan, according to a study published June 26 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys. One of the fish was caught in a hand net in 2023 about 16 feet below the surface, according to the study. The fish grows to about 2 inches long, researchers said, and has a 'large' mouth filled with 'numerous small, needle-like' teeth. The background color of the fish's body is 'orangish-brown' with a white belly and 'reddish saddle-like blotches' along its back, according to the study. Brown and white blotches create rows along the autumn lizardfish's sides, and the fins have reddish bars on a translucent membrane, researchers said. The fish's iris is orangish-red, matching the color of the saddles, photos show. The new species was originally discovered in Japan, but it also was found to be living in other parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans, according to the study. The fish was found in the waters around Taiwan, the Philippines, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Tonga and Hawaii, researchers said. 'It inhabits inshore areas with coral or rocky reefs and boulders, at depths of (about 3 to 100 feet),' according to the study. Researchers believe the fish may have actually been recorded decades ago in other regions based on underwater photographs, but because they can only be differentiated from another species. S. rubromarmoratus, by examining the teeth and scale lines, photographs alone wouldn't have been enough to identify the fish as a separate species at the time, according to the study. Other records that included drawings were also found but are not considered reliable in the scientific record, researchers said. The autumn lizardfish was found off Kyushu, the southwestern-most large island of Japan. The research team includes Ryusei Furuhashi and Hiroyuki Motomura.
Miami Herald
18-06-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
‘Translucent' creature with ‘oral tentacles' found off China coast is new species
Off the east coast of China, researchers discovered an unusual spiky creature feeding on a jellyfish-like species called a hydroid. In recent years, similar specimens were recorded in that region of the Yellow Sea, but never identified. Now, researchers have confirmed all 10 creatures belonged to a new species of sea slug, according to a study published June 18 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys. Pseudobornella qingdaoensis, or the Qingdao sea slug, is described as being about an inch and a half long, which researchers called 'large.' Its body is 'translucent yellow to dark brown, with numerous scattered orange to brown spots and white blotches,' according to the study. It has a 'wide' pale pink foot and four to five 'oral tentacles,' or sensory appendages, used for food foraging, according to researchers. The species is distinct for its 'remarkably' long sheath covering its sensory nose-like organs called rhinophores, researchers said. It is the first species in the Pseudobornella genus discovered in 93 years, according to the study. The Qingdao sea slug is currently only known from the Yellow Sea, but may also be present in the waters off Japan, the study said. The species was discovered in Qingdao in China's Shandong Province, a 405-mile drive southeast from Beijing. The research team included Shuqian Zhang and Juhao Wang.
Miami Herald
18-06-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
River creature — with more than 100 teeth — found as new species in Zimbabwe
In the highland rivers of Zimbabwe, researchers stretched a weighted net across the fast-flowing water. Then they headed upstream, dropped a probe in the water and turned on the electricity. The practice, called electrofishing, is common among fish researchers, or ichthyologists. It works by shocking and immobilizing fish species that then float down the river and get caught in the outstretched net. The researchers were collecting the highland fish as part of academic surveys in 2013, 2014 and 2022 in the Buzi and Pungwe river systems, according to a study published June 16 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys. The surveys paid off — identifying two species new to science. Two species of suckermouth catfish were collected in the researchers' nets, according to the study, and their unique characteristics combined with genetic analysis proved their place as new species. The first species, Chiloglanis asperocutis, or the 'rough skin' suckermouth catfish, stands out from other species with its ridged body and high number of teeth, researchers said. The holotype, or primary specimen used to describe the species, is about 2.5 inches long and found in the Honde River, according to the study. The species has anywhere from 68 to 128 teeth at the front of the upper jaw, while other related species found in southern Africa 'consistently have fewer than 68,' according to the study. The body of the fish is described as 'elongate' with 'numerous tubercles spread across (its) body' that form 'distinct ridge like structures' and give the skin a 'rough' texture, researchers said. The species was named for this trait, combining the Latin words 'aspero,' meaning rough, and 'cutis, meaning skin, according to the study. The fish is generally brown with varying shades and blotches, researchers said. In life, the pale brown sections of the fish are actually a 'golden color.' The rough skin suckermouth lives 'in rocky habitats with fast flowing water,' with their mouths on the bottom of their heads as a way of attaching themselves to wood, rocks or other surfaces, or to eat algae. The second new species, Chiloglanis compactus, was named for its smaller size, according to the study. Also known as the dwarf suckermouth catfish, the species is the smallest of all related species found in southern Africa at just 1.7 inches long, according to the study. Its body is 'short and rotund' with a 'relatively big' head and between 31 and 53 upper jaw teeth, researchers said. Some of the fish are 'very dark' with clear patterns, while others are lighter, according to the study. 'This species occurred at multiple localities in the Pungwe and Buzi river systems with the majority of the collections occurring at high elevation,' researchers said. Like the rough skin suckermouth, the dwarf suckermouth 'occurs in rocky habitats with fast flowing water,' however, 'its diet was not examined,' according to the study. Both species were found in eastern Zimbabwe, a country in southeastern Africa. The research team includes Tadiwa I. Mutizwa, Taurai Bere, Wilbert T. Kadye, Pedro H. N. Bragança and Albert Chakona.
