Latest news with #TasmanianMuseumandArtGallery
West Australian
03-06-2025
- General
- West Australian
CSIRO-led voyage leads to discovery of new deep-sea species, Carnarvon flapjack octopus, off Gascoyne coast
Meet the Carnarvon flapjack octopus — a new deep-sea species discovered in a canyon off the Gascoyne coast named after the location where it was found and its resemblance to a pancake. With massive eyes and blood-red tentacles, the small, gelatinous deep-sea octopus grows to about 4cm in diameter, but little is known about its ecology or lifestyle. The opisthoteuthis carnarvonensis is the 10th and latest new species to be described from specimens collected during a 2022 CSIRO-led voyage by research vessel Investigator, which surveyed relatively unexplored habitats and seabed biodiversity of the Gascoyne and Carnarvon Canyon Marine Parks for the first time. Since the survey, researchers, taxonomists and other stakeholders have been working to identify and describe some of these new species. In newly published research, Dr Tristan Verhoeff, a volunteer systematic taxonomist with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, described the new species of flapjack octopus. It is a type of cirrate or 'dumbo' octopus of which there are 50 described species worldwide and 15 recorded from Australian waters. It is a deep-sea shape shifter able to flatten its body to resemble a pancake or to pull itself up to look like a tiny gelatinous umbrella. Unlike other octopus, they produce no ink and cannot change colour. 'The Carnarvon flapjack octopus' presence adds extra value to these recently established marine parks,' Dr Verhoeff said. 'This species discovery increases our understanding of Australia's deep-sea ecology and biodiversity. Describing new species is also essential for future work on their ecology and assessing populations for conservation.' Dr Lisa Kirkendale, head of department aquatic zoology at the WA Museum, said the Indian Ocean was 'truly a frontier for marine biodiversity research' and support was needed to 'document fabulous new species, such as the Carnarvon flapjack octopus.' CSIRO marine national facility team leader Dr Venetia Joscelyne said the 2022 voyage had been vital for increasing the understanding of the region's seafloor habitats and biodiversity. 'This was the first time the Carnarvon Canyon and Gascoyne Marine Parks have been mapped in detail and explored to depths of more than 5000 metres,' she said. 'From this single research voyage alone, we are seeing many new marine species being described. Incredibly, scientists estimate that there are likely more than 1000 new species waiting to be described from specimens collected on RV Investigator voyages over the past 10 years.'
Perth Now
03-06-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
New ocean species with massive eyes discovered off WA coast
Meet the Carnarvon flapjack octopus — a new deep-sea species discovered in a canyon off the Gascoyne coast named after the location where it was found and its resemblance to a pancake. With massive eyes and blood-red tentacles, the small, gelatinous deep-sea octopus grows to about 4cm in diameter, but little is known about its ecology or lifestyle. The opisthoteuthis carnarvonensis is the 10th and latest new species to be described from specimens collected during a 2022 CSIRO-led voyage by research vessel Investigator, which surveyed relatively unexplored habitats and seabed biodiversity of the Gascoyne and Carnarvon Canyon Marine Parks for the first time. Since the survey, researchers, taxonomists and other stakeholders have been working to identify and describe some of these new species. In newly published research, Dr Tristan Verhoeff, a volunteer systematic taxonomist with the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, described the new species of flapjack octopus. The Carnarvon flapjack octopus has blood-red tentacles. Credit: Cindy Bessey, CSIRO It is a type of cirrate or 'dumbo' octopus of which there are 50 described species worldwide and 15 recorded from Australian waters. It is a deep-sea shape shifter able to flatten its body to resemble a pancake or to pull itself up to look like a tiny gelatinous umbrella. Unlike other octopus, they produce no ink and cannot change colour. 'The Carnarvon flapjack octopus' presence adds extra value to these recently established marine parks,' Dr Verhoeff said. 'This species discovery increases our understanding of Australia's deep-sea ecology and biodiversity. Describing new species is also essential for future work on their ecology and assessing populations for conservation.' Dr Lisa Kirkendale, head of department aquatic zoology at the WA Museum, said the Indian Ocean was 'truly a frontier for marine biodiversity research' and support was needed to 'document fabulous new species, such as the Carnarvon flapjack octopus.' CSIRO marine national facility team leader Dr Venetia Joscelyne said the 2022 voyage had been vital for increasing the understanding of the region's seafloor habitats and biodiversity. 'This was the first time the Carnarvon Canyon and Gascoyne Marine Parks have been mapped in detail and explored to depths of more than 5000 metres,' she said. 'From this single research voyage alone, we are seeing many new marine species being described. Incredibly, scientists estimate that there are likely more than 1000 new species waiting to be described from specimens collected on RV Investigator voyages over the past 10 years.'
ABC News
25-04-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Rare, tiny 'left-handed' seashell found at Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
An eight-year-old girl has found a "very, very rare" seashell, previously undiscovered, in a box that forms part of the collections of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). Zora was on a "show and shell" school holiday session at TMAG when she made the discovery while sifting through a tray of shell grit from a sample of giant kelp. "It was in a triangle shape, and it was tiny," Zora told ABC Radio Hobart. Zora, pictured with her father Dean, holds the tiny sinistral seashell she discovered. ( Supplied: Simon Grove ) TMAG senior curator of invertebrate zoology Simon Grove said it was an amazing find. "Included in my display of seashells from our collections was a box of shell grit where I indicated to the keener young visitors that one might spot some teeny tiny shells to contrast with the giant clams and other large specimen seashells," Dr Grove said. "I was frankly astounded when Zora showed me a small top shell that she had just found amongst the grit. "It's very, very rare and that's what I was so astounded about: that Zora had stumbled across this beautiful little shell and there's only probably fewer than 20 known to science all together." Glass vials with shell specimens at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. ( Supplied: Simon Grove ) It took Zora just three minutes to find the shell, which had been sitting undiscovered in a box at the museum for more than 50 years. "I brought in a tray of shell grit, which came from a sample extracted from the holdfasts of giant kelp, back in Cloudy Bay in 1972, and it has been sitting in the museum holdings ever since," Dr Grove said. A 'left-handed' shell Dr Grove said the species was unusual because its shell coiled the "wrong" way. It is a sinistral, or "left-handed" shell of a gastropod whereas most snail-type shells coil in a dextral or right-handed way. They're known as top shells because they resemble old-time spinning tops. "The sinistral top shell was formally described and named in 1863, on the basis of a Victorian specimen," Dr Grove said. Simon Grove says the shell is very, very rare. ( ABC Radio Hobart: Georgie Burgess ) He said he was only aware of fewer than 20 specimens of this unusual species having ever been found, all from Tasmanian or Victorian waters. "There's a lot of species that have that distribution; it's a pretty common pattern," Dr Grove said. "What's special is that despite people having known about the existence of this unusual species for more than 150 years, so few have been found," he said. "What also surprised me is that Zora managed to find it in the shell sample." Photo shows Picture of a man holding a shell across his mouth in the shape of a smiley face Will you be trying to hunt down a cowry shell on the beach this summer? Don't forget it was once a living creature. Dr Grove said there was no particular reason why most shells coiled to the right. "Through deep time, right back hundreds of millions of years, the majority of shell species have coiled dextrally or right-handedly, but there's always a few that don't, and this is one of them," he said. "I think the collector was probably the late George Davis, an artist with a side interest in seashells. George is actor Essie Davis's father. The handwritten label looks right for him, but there is no name attached. "I have often used the sample for 'show and shell' events. I usually bring a microscope so that people can see all the tiny seashells among the grit, but this time I just had magnifying glasses available for the children to use." Discoverer credited Dr Grove said the shell would be added to the Tasmanian seashell collection at TMAG. The other known Tasmanian records are from Low Head and King Island (collected by Dr Grove) and a couple dredged by the CSIRO from seamounts to the south of Tasmania. Zora, accompanied by her parents, for an interview at ABC Radio Hobart. ( ABC Radio Hobart: Lucy Bain ) Zora, who was attending the museum as part of the Children's University program, will be credited with the shell's discovery. "Her name will be entered into our database, and it will appear on the label," Dr Grove said. Shells from a dredge sample off Port Arthur, Tasmania. ( Supplied: Simon Grove, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery ) ABC Hobart in your inbox Get local news, stories, community events, recipes and more each fortnight. Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
