New Red and Beige Starfish Species Discovered in Japan

Posted on September 13, 2024

Researchers in Japan have discovered a new species of starfish. The discovery came about thanks to collaborative work among researchers, fishers, and aquarium and museum staff.

The starfish, which has been named Paragonaster hoeimaruae, belongs to the family Pseudarchasteridae. The starfish is a distinctive red and beige color. It has five arms and spans just over 10 centimeters.

Paragonaster hoeimaruae – off the coast of the Izu Peninsula in the Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo. We also found another in the Sea of Japan, northwest of Yamaguchi Prefecture in southwestern Japan. They were caught between 150 meters and 350 meters deep, have a well-proportioned body with five arms, and are a beautiful red on the surface and beige underneath."

The researchers gathered a variety of species from around Japan between 2021 and 2023. They were collected from shrimp and crab cages used by fishers in Hokkaido and Shizuoka prefectures, in northern and central Japan, respectively, and beam trawl surveys conducted by a Yamaguchi prefectural fisheries research ship. The starfish's name hoei was taken from the fishing vessel Hoei-maru, which first collected the specimen.

Kobayashi also says, "About 250 species of starfish live around Japan, and we were surprised that one so large as this had been overlooked. Our research highlights how the diversity of species in Japanese waters is still underestimated."

A research paper on the discovery was published in the Journal of Natural History.

This description of the starfish comes from the article:

Disc broad, flat, interradial margin evenly curved, multiple abactinal series extend to arm tip. Marginals paxilliform, narrow, no unpaired interradial marginals.

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