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Where would we be without taxonomists? We wouldn’t even want to imagine such a scenario, even though experts in taxonomy are declining at an alarming rate, just like some of the threatened species they describe.
This Taxonomist Appreciation Day is a great excuse to marvel at the amazing species that biodiversity specialists continue describing across the globe. The World Register of Marine Species does that by publishing a selection of the top 10 marine species published each year – we’re proud to share with you that two of 2023’s top marine species were first introduced to the scientific world on the pages of our journal ZooKeys!
One of them is Tetranemertes bifrost, a beautiful ribbon worm from the Carribean whose description was published in ZooKeys.
The most spectacularly colored nemertean in the Caribbean, if not the world, it has a long, thin, thread-like body that can stretch much more than 200 mm long. Its head has a characteristic, narrow diamond or spearhead shape, vaguely reminiscent of a viper’s head.
Its name refers to the bright, colorful iridescent stripes and spots characterizing it. Bifrost, the rainbow bridge in the Norse mythology, reaches between Midgard, the human Earth, and Asgard, the realm of the gods. Some authors state that the name Bifrost means “shimmering path” or “the swaying road to heaven”, and that it might be inspired by the Milky Way.
This benthic marine worm usually lives in coral rubble, gravel, and shell hash. It can often be found stretched between nooks and crannies of the substratum.
Found near Bocas del Toro, Panamá, it is one of the first records of this genus in the Carribean sea.
In the 1970s, some 50 years before it was scientifically described, Smithsonian photographer Kjell Sandved took a picture of it draped over an unknown fan coral off Puerto Rico.
The second ZooKeys species featured in the selection is the whimsical Nautilus samoaensis.
Nautiloids were in fact quite plentiful throughout the oceans at one point, based upon the fossil record. Today, they are represented by just a handful of species. Nautilus samoaensis and two other species got described as new to science in ZooKeys in early 2023, proving that Nautilus are more diverse than one could think.
Nautilus samoaensis has a beautiful shell; in fact, its shell color pattern is the most unique of all Nautilus species. It is composed of multiple, branching stripes that have a rearward projection after descending from the venter. No other known Nautilus species shows this color pattern. It lives near Pago Pago, American Samoa, where it has been found at depths between 200 and 400 m.
This marine species also ranked second in Pensoft’s Top 10 New Species selection for 2023.
Last year, we told you about the peculiarities of studying nautilus species, but these animals are actually under a serious threat from illegal fishing, as they are highly prized for their shells.
The Top 10 Marine Species is an initiative that brings awareness to the importance of the work of biodiversity scholars, so announcing it on Taxonomist Appreciation Day is only fitting; but it also highlights the need to better protect our oceans and the unique life that hides in there.