Latest news with #Verhoeff
West Australian
3 days ago
- 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.'
Vancouver Sun
6 days ago
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Victoria Royals lose two top players to NCAA's North Dakota — what's next for WHL?
Jeff Marek's Thursday podcast that broached the idea of junior teams finding sponsors to pay star players sounded a little over the top. A day later, it became less far fetched. On Friday, the news broke that Victoria Royals centre Cole Reschny, 18, and defenceman Keaton Verhoeff, 16, were both giving up multiple years of junior eligibility to join the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks in the fall. Reschny could winding up going in the first round of this summer's NHL Draft, while Verhoeff might be a top-five selection in 2026. The Royals won the WHL's B.C. Division this past season and looked to be continuing in the right direction. How they regroup after Friday's news is anyone's guess. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The NCAA announced in November that it was opening up scholarship opportunities to players from Major Junior leagues like the WHL for the coming season and the buzz around 17-year-old phenom Gavin McKenna of the Medicine Hat Tigers making that move started up instantly. The Tigers play the London Knights for the Memorial Cup national title Sunday in Rimouski. McKenna could hoist the most prized trophy in junior hockey in this country, and moments later be asked in a media scrum about whether he's leaving for the American collegiate system. Various junior hockey people over the season have concurred that McKenna was in play to go to the NCAA, but they treated it as him being an outlier, the very tip of the top one per cent of players in the WHL. The thinking was that collegiate teams would want graduating 20-year-olds and the odd 19-year-old, in large part because they recruited players of that age when the Junior A ranks were their main feeder. Junior hockey's biggest selling point is the chance for fans to watch draft eligible players and world junior team candidates. Guess what? The NCAA isn't any different. There will be no better marketing for North Dakota than when Verhoeff is one of the first few names mentioned two drafts from now. And NCAA programs like North Dakota believe those high-end youngsters can compete against 22- and 23-year-olds. Reschny and Verhoeff would have been in the top-five per cent of WHL players this coming season. There have been other underage players declare for schools as well. How deep will the NCAA end up taking from when all is said and done? Ten per cent? Will it get to 20 per cent? I asked Cecchini how the CHL could keep players from going the college route and what I got from the QMJHL Commissioner was an answer I never considered. This new way of life for hockey development was a topic on Marek's The Sheet podcast earlier in the week, when QMJHL commissioner Mario Cecchini was a guest. Marek asked Cecchini point blank whether the teams in the QMJHL, WHL and OHL should consider paying players. 'Well, right now we have a student/athlete status, so we have to be very, very, very careful about that,' Cecchini said. 'But there are sponsoring possibilities. So the teams right now, as we speak, cannot pay them directly, but can a local automotive dealer sponsor a player directly? That's doable and that's possible. That's within the framework that we live in. That's where we may want to turn our hats. 'It's probably one player per team at most. Call them a franchise player, for example, for a term that we know well in sports.' The irony is that they'd have to get it approved by the NCAA so that players can keep their college eligibility. You would think the NCAA would oblige, considering that they're doing exactly that with their Name Image Likeness (NIL) program. For hockey, this a major rethink, and hockey rarely has been one for major rethinks, and that includes in junior. The WHL went from 72-game regular seasons for its teams to 68-game ones in 2018-19 and that proved a much debated endeavour. For decades, the pitch to players from teams in the WHL was that they had a schedule similar to an NHL one, and that got you ready for the next level. The thinking is different now. Fewer games means more time to work on your skills, more time to work on your body in the gym. The Boston University Terriers, with Vancouver Canucks defence prospect Tom Willander helping to lead the way, went to the NCAA championship game as part of their 40 total games this season. Medicine Hat's showdown with London Sunday will mark their 90th game of the campaign. There's also the matter of facilities. North Dakota's Ralph Engelstad Arena features a 1,400 square foot altitude chamber added to its weight room arena in 2021. That's an extreme, but it gives you an idea of what the WHL teams are now competing against. They'll need to find a way. Junior-aged CHLers who have committed to the NCAA for next season: • Malcolm Spence (2025) • Cole Reschny (2025) • Kristian Epperson (2025) • Lev Katzin (2025) • Luke Misa (CGY) • Henry Mews (CGY) • Clarke Caswell (SEA) And the flood gates haven't even opened yet. 'For me, North Dakota was top-of-the-line,' Verhoeff told the Grand Forks Gazette. 'It's professional in every aspect of the training, the day-to-day, and the opportunity I was given there was too good to pass up. 'I checked out a couple of other schools. After looking at all the other great programs and schools, North Dakota is the one that spoke to me and I felt at home there.' Verhoeff, who turns 17 in June, is a 6-foot-4, 212-pound right-handed shot and had 21 goals and 45 points in 63 regular season games with the Royals. He finished his high school commitments early. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler had him at No. 5 in a 2026 mock draft he did in April. The 5-foot-10, 187-pound, left-shot Reschny put up 26 goals and 92 points in 62 regular season games with Victoria. Elite Prospects has him at No 22 in its consolidated rankings for this year's draft, led by a No. 13 from TSN's Craig Button. Left-shot McKenna, who's 6-foot and 165 pounds, tallied 41 times and recorded 129 points in 56 regular season games with the Tigers. He then supplied nine goals and 38 points in 16 regular season games. He's, of course, the consensus projected No. 1 pick for 2026. One-time Canucks forward Byron Ritchie is McKenna's family adviser. He told Postmedia back in March that the NCAA was definitely an option, explaining how he worried about McKenna jumping from the WHL to the NHL after next season, which is what is expected. 'Going from playing 2009s, 2008s and 2007s (16- to 18-year-olds) if he stays, to playing the following year against men who are trying to feed their families and where every puck battle is life or death,' Ritchie said. 'It's a massive step from the Western League to the NHL. Can you ease that transition by having him playing next year against 22- and 23-year-olds?' @SteveEwen SEwen@
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Science
- Miami Herald
Deep-sea creature with ‘massive eyes' discovered in canyon. It's a new species
Thousands of feet below the surface of the Indian Ocean, a reddish sea creature with 'massive eyes' used its 'long' arms to move through the water. Something approached the deep-sea animals, caught it and pulled it toward the surface. Aboard a research vessel, scientists looked at their catch. It turned out to be a new species. Researchers set out on the RV Investigator for a monthlong expedition in late 2022 to survey the seabed and document the deep sea biodiversity off the western coast of Australia, according to Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the organization that led the project. During the trip, researchers collected five unfamiliar-looking octopuses and later showed them to Tristan Verhoeff, a marine biologist, according to a study published May 12 in the peer-reviewed Australian Journal of Taxonomy. Verhoeff took a closer look at the octopuses, compared them with known species and soon realized they'd discovered a new species: Opisthoteuthis carnarvonensis, or the Carnarvon flapjack octopus. Carnarvon flapjack octopuses can reach about 7.5 inches in length but shrink after being preserved, the study said. They are 'gelatinous' with a 'dome-like' body and eight 'thick, relatively long' arms with dozens of suckers. Their heads have 'very large' eyes and 'small' fins. Photos show the new species and its 'dark brown-red' coloring. Some pale 'unpigmented' spots dot its body, the study said. Much about the lifestyle of Carnarvon flapjack octopuses remains unknown. The octopuses likely live near the seafloor and were found in an underwater canyon at depths of about 3,400 to 5,000 feet, the study said. A 2022 news release from CSIRO shows the research vessel that collected the new species. Verhoeff named the new species after the Carnarvon Canyon Marine Park where it was first discovered. So far, Carnarvon flapjack octopuses have only been found in a small region off the northwestern coast of Australia, the study said. The new species was identified by its internal anatomy, reproductive system, arm suckers and other subtle physical features, Verhoeff said. The study did not include a DNA analysis of the new species. 'The waters around Australia and New Zealand, and the Pacific Ocean more broadly, host a high diversity of flapjack octopods, though this diversity remained largely undocumented until recently,' Verhoeff said.
