Researchers took water from a pond and found Tripedalia maipoensis, a new species of 24-eyed cubic jellyfish, a study has found.
Scientists plunged a net into a greenish pond in Hong Kong and found a 24-eyed cubic creature staring back at them. They then identified a new species.
Researchers found the creature hiding in the brackish water of the Mai Po nature reserve’s shrimp ponds, according to a study published March 20 in the journal Zoological Studies. They returned three summers in a row and continued to find these creatures.
After analysis, scientists discovered a new species of “box jellyfish”, the study says.
Box jellyfish are so named because of their cube-shaped bodies. This group of jellyfish includes “some of the most venomous sea creatures in the world”.
The new species, Tripedalia maipoensis, has a transparent body slightly tinged with white. Measuring less than a centimeter in length, it has three tentacles extending from each corner of its body.
This jellyfish has 24 eyes arranged in sets of six. On each side, the creature has two larger eyes, surrounded by four smaller eyes. Two of those eyes are for seeing images, while the other four are for detecting light, according to an April 18 statement from Hong Kong Baptist University.
The Tripedalia maipoensis jellyfish has “pedal-like structures” at the base of its tentacles that act like “paddles”, allowing these box jellyfish to swim faster than other types of jellyfish.
As it swims, the box jellyfish appears to pulse as it propels its body forward, as shown in a video from Hong Kong Baptist University.
The researchers identified the Tripedalia maipoensis jellyfish as a new species because it was genetically and physically distinct from other box jellyfish. They named the animal after the Mai Po region where it was discovered.
Qiu Jianwen, the research team leader, described the Mai Po area as “relatively well-studied” and stressed that this discovery “sheds light on the rich diversity of marine life in Hong Kong and indeed throughout the China,” the statement said.
Tripedalia maipoensis is the first species of box jellyfish discovered in Chinese waters, the statement said. Mai Po Nature Reserve is located in northern Hong Kong.