Researchers in Japan have discovered a new species of starfish (commonly called starfish). The discovery was made through collaboration between researchers, fishermen and aquarium and museum staff. The starfish, which has been given a name Paragonaster hoeimaruae, belongs to the family Pseudarchasteridae. It is a striking red and beige color, with five arms and a wingspan of just over 10 centimeters. The researchers say this discovery demonstrates the importance and benefits of working together to better understand the diversity of our oceans.
Did you know that starfish are not real fish? Despite the name, they are more closely related to spiny sea urchins and soft sea cucumbers. Although they may look docile and floppy when stranded on a sandy beach, they are actually important predators that can have up to 50 arms, grow up to a meter long and live for decades.
About 2,000 species of starfish are known. Now, a collaboration between researchers from the University of Tokyo, the Enoshima Aquarium, the Marine Science Museum, Fukushima Prefecture and the Yamaguchi 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 a family of starfish called Pseudarchasteridae. Until now, only four species of Pseudarchasteridae, from two genera (biological arrangement, between family and species, for classifying animals), had been observed in Japanese waters.
“We have discovered the starfish, with a new name Paragonaster hoeimaruae — off the coast of the Izu Peninsula in Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo. We also found another in the Sea of Japan, northwest of Yamaguchi Prefecture in southwestern Japan,” explained lead researcher Itaru Kobayashi of the University of Tokyo Misaki Marine Biological Station. “They were caught between 150 and 350 meters deep. well-proportioned body with five arms, and are beautifully red on the surface and beige underneath.
The team collected a variety of species from across Japan between 2021 and 2023. They were collected from shrimp and crab cages used by fishermen in Hokkaido and Shizuoka prefectures, northern and central Japan, respectively, and from beam trawl surveys (where a large net is used). dragged along the ocean floor) carried out by a fisheries research vessel from Yamaguchi Prefecture. The name of the starfish Whoa was recovered from the fishing vessel Huy-maruwho first collected the sample.
The team also recorded other starfish in different locations than where they had previously been found. was of particular importance Gephyreaster Swifti, a surprisingly large starfish with a diameter of about 30 centimeters, found off the northern coast of Hokkaido. Previously, the species had only been recorded from the Pacific west coast of the United States and Canada, as far north as the Bering Sea islands.
“There are about 250 species of starfish in Japan, and we were surprised that one as large as this was overlooked. Our research shows how the diversity of species in Japanese waters is still underestimated,” says Kobayashi. “These exciting discoveries demonstrate how important it is for fishermen, aquariums, universities and other research institutions to work together to better understand our oceans and marine biodiversity.”
