Bright red, bumpy sea creature appears in trap off Japan’s coast. It’s a new species
Off the coast of central Japan, a fishing boat dropped traps down into the water.
The traps sat at the ready on the ocean floor, about 1,100 feet down.
When the boat returned some time later and brought the traps back to the surface, a small, red, bumpy sea creature was caught inside.
It’s called Paragonaster hoeimaruae — and it’s a new species.
Paragonaster hoeimaruae, or the Hoei sea star, comes from a family of echinoderms that live in shallow and medium-depth oceans, according to a study published Aug. 2 in the Journal of Natural History.
They are known for having a “flat body” with “robust block-like” plates on their legs, according to the study.
The new species is no different. Its bright red body has five, thick legs that taper to points, researchers said, and it’s covered in bumps.
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Some of its plates are “oblong,” while others are more rectangular or circular, according to the study.
The bottom of the sea star is a beige color, researchers said, and tube feet with suckered discs help the species move across the seafloor.
The species was named after the boat that collected it, according to the study.
So far, they have only been recorded off the Pacific coast of Japan, researchers said, at depths between 500 and 1100 feet.
Sea stars, popularly known as starfish, are actually not fish at all but are related to sand dollars and sea urchins, according to the Pacific Beach Coalition.
They have no brain or blood and eat from the inside out, using their tiny suction cups to grab food and bring it to their mouth that extends outside the body, according to the coalition.
The new species was found southeast of the Izu Peninsula on the southern coast of central Japan.
Researchers involved with the study were Itaru Kobayashi, Takayuki Sonoyama, Mai Hibino, Mitsuhisa Kawano and Hisanori Kohtsuka.
