Two New Species of Encrusting Anemones Found
Posted on November 29, 2012
Two new species of encrusting anemones have been found in southern Japan and on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The Japan species, Neozoanthus uchina, is pictured above. The anemones were discovered by associate professor James Davis Reimer and two graduate students from the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa, Japan.
The anemones are small. The largest individual polyps are about 6 mm in diameter. They have red, gray, blue or purple oral discs. The newly discovered anemones belong to the genus Neozoanthus. Only one other species of Neozoanthus is known. It was discovered in Madagascar in 1972.
The researchers initially thought these anemones were very rare, but then discovered the Japanese species was locally common.
Professor Reimer said in the announcement, "These findings can be explained by the fact that there are very few zoanthid researchers in the world. These species are not particularly hard to find, but there was no one looking for them. This research demonstrates how little we know about marine biodiversity, even in regions relatively well researched."
The findings were reported here in the journal ZooKeys.