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Researchers in Japan discovered a new species of starfish. The discovery was made possible thanks to the joint work of researchers, fishermen, employees of aquariums and museums. Research published in the journal Natural History.
The starfish named Paragonaster hoeimaruae belongs to the Pseudarchasteridae family. It has a characteristic red-beige color, five limbs and a wingspan of a little more than 10 centimeters. The researchers say the discovery shows the importance and benefits of working together to better understand the diversity of our oceans.
Few people know that starfish are not actually fish. Despite the name, they are closer to prickly sea urchins and soft sea cucumbers. Although they may seem docile and mellow when washed up on a sandy beach, they are actually important predators that can have up to 50 arms, swing arms up to a meter long, and live for decades.
About 2000 species of starfish are known. Now, a collaboration between researchers from the University of Tokyo, the Enoshima Aquarium, the Museum of Marine Science, Fukushima Prefecture and the Yamaguti Prefectural Fisheries Research Center in Japan has led to the discovery of a new species along the country's coast.
The new species belongs to the sea star family Pseudarchasteridae. So far, only four species of Pseudarchasteridae from two genera (the biological rank, between family and species, for classifying animals) have been seen in Japanese waters.
"We discovered a starfish, newly named Paragonaster hoeimaruae, off the coast of the Izu Peninsula in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo. "We also found another one in the Sea of Japan, northwest of Yamaguchi Prefecture in southwestern Japan," explained lead researcher Itaru Kobayashi of the University of Tokyo's Misaki Marine Biological Station. - They were caught at a depth of 150 to 350 meters, they have a proportional body with five limbs, they are a beautiful red color on the surface and a beige color on the underside."
The team collected many species across Japan between 2021 and 2023. They were collected from shrimp and crab cages used by fishermen in Hokkaido and Shizuoka prefectures in northern and central Japan, respectively, and studies of beam trawling (where a large net is dragged along the ocean floor) conducted by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Fisheries Research Vessel. The starfish's name, hoei, was taken from the Hoei-maru fishing vessel that first caught the specimen.
The team also recorded other starfish in locations different from where they were previously discovered. Of particular note is Gephyreaster swifti, a surprisingly large starfish about 30 centimeters in diameter found off the northern coast of Hokkaido. Previously, it was recorded only on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean in the United States and Canada, as well as on the islands of the Bering Sea in the north.
"There are about 250 species of starfish around Japan, and we were surprised that such a large species was overlooked. Our research shows that the diversity of species in Japanese waters is still underestimated, Kobayashi said. "These exciting discoveries show how important it is for fishermen, aquariums, universities and other research institutions to work together to better understand our oceans and marine biodiversity."
