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Tag: Marine Life

  • These Newly Discovered Deep-Sea Snailfish Just Became Our Latest Obsession

    The deep sea is home to some of the weirdest creatures on Earth, from ghostly elder fish to carnivorous harp sponges. Sometimes, scientists discover more humble creatures that are so tiny that they go unnoticed until new technology brings them into view.

    Such efforts rarely disappoint. Using an underwater robot camera, researchers discovered three new species of deep-sea snailfish: one bumpy, one dark, and one sleek. In a new paper published in Ichthyology and Herpetology, researchers explain how CT scans and DNA sequencing revealed that the three fish had features unlike any other known species, confirming their novelty.

    “Our discovery of not one, but three, new species of snailfishes is a reminder of how much we have yet to learn about life on Earth and of the power of curiosity and exploration,” Mackenzie Gerringer, study lead author and a marine scientist at SUNY Geneseo, said in a statement.

    Some complimentary snailfish trivia

    Snailfish are charming yet funky creatures. Although features vary among the 400 known species, they’re typically small, tadpole-shaped, and sport large, jelly-like heads. A disk on their belly allows them to either stick to the seafloor or “hitchhike on larger animals,” according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).

    “They come in beautiful colors,” Johanna Weston, an ecologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution not involved in the new work, told the New York Times. “They also have a lovely little smile on their face.”

    Snailfish that live in shallow waters will curl up against rocks or seaweed like snails, like their namesake. Snailfish in deep-sea trenches, on the other hand, are trickier to find, although a snailfish holds the record for the deepest-dwelling fish.

    Meet the new snailfish

    All three species were first discovered in 2019 over two expeditions off the coast of Central California. MBARI’s underwater robot explorer found the bumpy snailfish swimming at a depth of 10,722 feet (3,268 meters). The dark and sleek snailfish, on the other hand, swam even deeper, at about 13,451 feet (4,100 meters). The robot captured one of each species, carefully bringing them back to the lab for analysis.

    At the lab, scientists conducted CT scans of the snailfish to study its physical features. Credit: MBARI/Steven Haddock/Mackenzie Gerringer

    The bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi) is pink and round but bumpy all around, whereas the dark snailfish (Careproctus yanceyi) is fully black with a round head and horizontal mouth. Unlike these two, the sleek snailfish (Paraliparis em) has a long, “laterally compressed body” and an angled jaw.

    Scientists aren’t sure yet how common these species are, but so far it appears that the bumpy snailfish may be the rarest. This particular encounter with the bumpy snailfish is the only confirmed observation of the species, the researchers said. The intention is to continue searching for more to understand these species’ geographic distribution. Hopefully, this won’t be the last time we meet these creatures.

    Gayoung Lee

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  • Live Wildly Joins Campaign to Turn Invasive Lionfish from Malicious to Delicious

    Emerald Coast Open – the largest lionfish tournament in the world – encourages restaurants and their customers to discover the joy of eating lionfish


    TAMPA, Fla., May 7, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Live Wildly has joined the Emerald Coast Open Lionfish Tournament as a sponsor to help stop dangerous invasive lionfish from destroying Florida’s native marine life and habitat. The tournament takes place in Destin, FL, May 16-17.

    “Florida’s unique marine areas are not just beautiful, they also are the backbone of our tourism, commercial fishing, and outdoor recreation economies,” said Lisa Shipley, CEO of Live Wildly. “Lionfish are an invasive species that pose a real threat to Florida’s natural systems, native wildlife, and nature-based economy.”

    The Emerald Coast Open brings together teams of fishers who compete to catch the most lionfish. Live Wildly is sponsoring a team organized by Ocean Strike Team, a group that supports ocean conservation, citizen science, and research through ecotourism experiences and actions.

    Winners of the tournament receive cash prizes for the most, the biggest, and the smallest lionfish caught.

    Live Wildly is also sponsoring AJ’s Seafood and Oyster Bar which is participating in the Emerald Coast Open’s Restaurant Week which runs May 9-17. Live Wildly is proud to be the first-ever sponsor of Restaurant Week, during which local eateries feature lionfish dishes on their menus, educating customers about the invasive species and encouraging other restaurants to serve lionfish year-round.

    Lionfish – which can be fried, baked, broiled, steamed, poached, or even eaten raw in sushi – are firm, tender, and flakey with a mild taste similar to snapper, black sea bass, and hogfish.

    But while lionfish may be delicious to eat, they are malicious when it comes to the threats they pose to Florida’s marine systems and native fish populations.

    Originally from the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, lionfish were first spotted in Florida’s waters in the 1980s, believed to have been released by home aquarium owners who originally kept them as pets. Because lionfish have no natural predators in Atlantic waters, and because a single lionfish can produce up to 2 million eggs a year, lionfish have quickly spread from Florida’s coasts all the way up to New York posing severe environmental threats up and down the East Coast.

    Lionfish can grow to more than 18 inches long and have long venomous spines. They are voracious hunters, eating nearly any living creature that can fit into their mouths, including juveniles of many commercially important fish such as grouper, seabass, and snapper. Lionfish also threaten Florida’s extensive reef habitats by preying on algae-eating species that help keep corals clean and healthy. And lionfish compete for food with native fish species, further harming their populations.

    Commercial and recreational harvesting of lionfish are some of the most effective ways of controlling its spread and environmental damage. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hosts seminars and workshops throughout the year to train people how to catch lionfish and to educate the public about the dangers of invasive species.

    “Getting outdoors to catch lionfish is a great way to enjoy wild Florida while also keeping it healthy,” Shipley said. “Restaurants that serve lionfish are not just providing great food to their customers, they’re also helping keep Florida’s marine systems strong and productive for residents, tourists, and local economies.”

    Source: Live Wildly Foundation

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  • First-ever image of a newborn great white shark revealed

    First-ever image of a newborn great white shark revealed


    For the first time, a live baby great white shark has been spotted in the wild.

    The shark was around 5 feet long already and pure white, unlike its grey-colored adult counterparts, leading scientists to believe it could be a baby great white, according to a new paper discussing the finding in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes.

    Great white sharks, known to scientists as white sharks, have never before been observed as juveniles, with their mating and reproduction being a long-standing mystery to marine biologists.

    “Where white sharks give birth is one of the holy grails of shark science. No one has ever been able to pinpoint where they are born, nor has anyone seen a newborn baby shark alive,” wildlife filmmaker Carlos Gauna, who was one of the pair that spotted the shark, said in a statement. “There have been dead white sharks found inside deceased pregnant mothers. But nothing like this.”

    A newborn great white shark filmed off the California coast near Santa Barbara. This may be the first-ever observation of a newborn great white.

    Carlos Gauna/The Malibu Artist

    The baby shark was sighted off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, on July 9, 2023, by Guana and Phillip Sternes, a UC Riverside biology doctoral student, who captured the rare occurrence on a drone camera.

    “We enlarged the images, put them in slow motion, and realized the white layer was being shed from the body as it was swimming,” Sternes said in the statement. “I believe it was a newborn white shark shedding its embryonic layer.”

    Great white sharks can grow to lengths of 16 feet and are listed as “vulnerable” worldwide and “critically endangered” in Europe on the IUCN Red List. These sharks give birth to live young, with the shark fetuses feeding on a sort of “milk” within their mothers’ wombs. This is what the researchers believe they saw surrounding the shark pup, giving it the white color.

    “I believe what we saw was the baby shedding the intrauterine milk,” Sternes said.

    The size and shape of the white-colored shark is around what would be expected for a newborn great white.

    “In my opinion, this one was likely hours, maybe one day old at most,” Sternes said.

    Another piece of evidence supporting this shark being a juvenile is the location: pregnant sharks had previously been observed in the same area, indicating that this may be a popular spot for the sharks to give birth.

    “I filmed three very large sharks that appeared pregnant at this specific location in the days prior. On this day, one of them dove down, and not long afterwards, this fully white shark appears,” Gauna said. “It’s not a stretch to deduce where the baby came from.”

    It was previously thought that great whites gave birth further out to sea, but this juvenile was spotted only around 1,000 feet from land, indicating that they may instead give birth in shallow waters. This area may, therefore, be a contender for research into great white shark reproduction and birth.

    great white shark swimming
    Stock image of a great white shark. Great white mating and reproduction have been a mystery to marine biologists.

    ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS

    “There are a lot of hypothetical areas, but despite intense interest in these sharks, no one’s seen a birth or a newborn pup in the wild,” Sternes said. “This may well be the first evidence we have of a pup in the wild, making this a definitive birthing location.”

    In the paper, the authors note that it is possible that the shark’s white color may not be because it was a juvenile but instead due to a skin condition of some form. However, they are fairly certain that it was indeed a newborn great white.

    “If that is what we saw, then that too is monumental because no such condition has ever been reported for these sharks,” Gauna said.

    “Further research is needed to confirm these waters are indeed a great white breeding ground. But if it does, we would want lawmakers to step in and protect these waters to help white sharks keep thriving,” Sternes said.

    Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about great white sharks? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.