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Are they scary or cute? In any case, these two specimens of the skeletal panda sea squirt have recently been given an official scientific name: Clavelina ossipandae. They were discovered in the waters off the Japanese island of Kumejima. Scientists are fascinated.
Naohiro Hasegawa, Hokkaido University:
»The white parts that look like bones are the blood vessels that run horizontally through the gills of the sea squirts. The black parts on the head that look like a panda's eyes and nose are just a pattern. We don’t yet know why the animals have it.”
Divers off the island of Kumejima liked the animals so much that they published pictures of them on the Internet. Scientists confirmed in a publication at the beginning of February that the sea creatures, which can measure up to two centimeters in size, are a new species.
Naohiro Hasegawa, University of Hokkaido:
“Their shape differs slightly from the Clavelina sea crab species in Japan, of which ten species were previously known. It wasn't until I saw the pictures on Twitter that I realized this species is probably pretty rare. It looks different from the other sea squirts.”
The Japanese researchers now hope that they will find even more new species in the coral reefs of Okinawa. Maybe they'll look even more bizarre than Clavelina ossipandae.