NOAA Scientists Discover New Species Of Gelatinous Animal In Waters Near Puerto Rico

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The newly named Duobrachium sparksae was discovered two and a half miles below sea level by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries research team. It was found during an underwater expedition using a remote control vehicle in 2015 and filmed by a high definition camera.

NOAA Fisheries scientists Mike Ford and Allen Collins spotted the ctenophore and recognized it as a new species. This is the first time that NOAA scientists have identified a new species using only high-definition video, according to NOAA.

“The cameras of the Deep Discoverer robot are able to obtain high resolution images and measure structures smaller than a millimeter. We don’t have the same microscopes that we would in a lab, but the video can give us enough information to understand the morphology in detail, like the location of their reproductive parts and other aspects, ”said Collins.

Scientists also said there was another unique quality to the discovery. During the expedition they weren’t able to collect samples so video evidence is all they have.

“The naming of organisms is guided by the international code, but some changes have allowed new species to be described on the basis of videos – certainly when species are rare and when collection is not possible,” Ford said. “When we made these observations, we were at a depth of 4000 meters, using a distant vehicle, and we did not have the capacity to take a sample.”

There are between 100 and 150 species of comb jellies, and despite their name, they are not related to jellyfish at all, according to NOAA. The species is carnivorous and many are very efficient predators that feed on small arthropods and many types of larvae.

The researchers said there wasn’t a long look at the animal first, so there’s still a lot about this new species that they don’t know about yet. Their results were recently published in the journal Plankton and Benthos Research.

“We are not yet sure of their role in the ecosystem,” said Ford.

“We can consider that it fulfills similar roles to other ctenophores near the ocean floor and also has similarities to other ctenophores in open ocean areas,” he said.

The videos are now part of the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and are available to the public.

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