New Heart Urchin Among 100 New Species Found in the Philippines

Posted on June 8, 2015

Scientists from the California Academy of Sciences have announced the discover of over 100 new species in the Philippines. The announcement was made to celebrate World Ocean's Day. The scientists say the Philippines is home to the most biologically diverse waters on Earth. A photograph of the new heart urchin discovered is pictured above. New species of sea slugs and barnacles were also discovered.

Scientists surveying the region snorkeled in sandy shallows, scanned steep, clear-water reefs, and dove to depths 150 to 500 feet beneath the ocean's surface. The researchers say they explored deep-water "twilight zone" regions never before seen by human eyes.

Rich Mooi, PhD, Academy Curator of Invertebrate Zoology and Geology, already knew the Philippines was an "incredibly special place" for sea urchin research, but he still experienced a moment of pure astonishment during the recent expedition.

Mooi says in a statement, "In 2014, we found the internal skeleton for a lovely new species of heart urchin, about the size of balled-up fist. I remember saying, 'I haven't the slightest idea what this is!' This spring, we found several more deceased specimens, but lost hope that we'd find a living urchin with all its appendages and spines. I thought we'd never know what this cool beast actually looked like."

A live heart urchin specimen was discovered 70 feet below the ocean's surface off Puerto Galera during the final weeks of the expedition. It has pinkish-white spines that are "like silk" or "fine hairs." The discovery has been linked to a long-lost relative from the Prenaster genus that roamed the seafloor 50 million years ago.

Mooi says, "It's critical we fill the gaps in knowledge about the life that thrives in the Philippines--you never know when you're going to discover a living fossil among the corals. We want to work with folks in the Philippines and global scientific community to help sustain these unique environments for generations to come."

The California Academy of Sciences has some photographs of some of the sea slugs and tunicates discovered in the Philippines exploration here. Some live animals from the reefs were collected for an exhibit the Academy’s Steinhart Aquarium, which is expected to open in the summer of 2016.

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