The quarantine shrimp, the Ameronothrus twitter or the beaked whale Ramari, these are some of the many new marine species discovered by scientists in 2021.
Last year, scientists discovered 2,241 new species of marine animals and plants, the Flemish Marine Institute, which maintains the World Register of Marine Species, said on Tuesday.
An arachnid named Twitter
These new species include Ameronothrus twitter, a mite larva barely 0.5 millimeters in size that was discovered by photographer and naturalist Takamasa Nemoto at a shipyard in Honshu, Japan. The arachnid was named Twitter because it was after posting photos of the little beast on the social network that a Japanese researcher specializing in mites concluded that it was a new species, never observed before. .
A new species of whale
A new species of whale is also joining the global marine directory. This is the Ramari beaked whale (Mesoplodon eueu). The five-meter-long marine mammal was discovered by the local Ng tribe? you M? haki after a specimen washed up on the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island. Its name pays tribute to Ramari Stewart, the first indigenous woman to discover a new species of whale. “Ramari” also means “an extraordinary event” in Maori, the language spoken by this indigenous people of New Zealand.
Vivian Ward, University of Auckland.
The quarantine shrimp!
Finally, there is also the quarantine shrimp Periclimenaeus karantina, in which sponges and sea squirts take refuge because it is an excellent shelter against predators. The name refers to the confinements and quarantines in force during the health crisis, when the species was discovered.
Ph. J-H Park
The oceans are still largely unexplored today. It is estimated that there are some 1.5 million unknown species in the world’s oceans.
