Strawberry feather star discovered in Antarctica, researchers say
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Researchers in Antarctica have discovered a new species with 20 arms and a strawberry-like shape.
An article in the journal Invertebrate Systematics published in July described the creature which has been dubbed Promachocrinus fragarius, named after the Latin word for strawberry due to its resemblance to the shape.
The Promachocrinus fragarius, a type of Antarctic feather star, can have 20 or 10 arms. While the report did not provide measurements of the animal’s size (only describing it as “large”), it said it can range in color from “purplish” to “dark reddish.”
Antarctic feather stars live at ocean depths ranging from 65 to 6500 feet, according to the report.
Three scientists with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California, San Diego completed expeditions between 2008 and 2017 in search of what they call “cryptic biodiversity.”
“The Southern Ocean has unique environmental conditions that may drive biodiversity,” said the report, written by Emily L. McLaughlin, Nerida G. Wilson and Greg W. Rouse.
Overall, the report identified four new species in the region, according to research Greg Rouse.