A venomous sea creature partially buried in the sand of a Singaporean shore extended its 96 arms.
It was likely awaiting the arrival of nearby prey. Instead, passing scientists discovered a new species after spotting the multicolored animal.
Unveiling a New Sea Creature Species on a Singaporean Shore
“A team of local citizen scientists first encountered the animal more than a decade ago,” researcher Nicholas Yap told McClatchy News in an email. They presented it to Daphne Fautin, a scientist who suspected it was a new species.
Yap and a team of researchers began investigating the possibility out of curiosity. They searched for sea anemones along the northern coast of Singapore, according to a study published in the journal Zoological Studies on July 6.
According to the study, at high tide, researchers discovered striped sea anemones with their tentacles stretched out in shallow water.
At low tide, researchers discovered exposed animals using their throats to conceal the rest of their bodies.
According to the study, researchers examined living marine anemones, collected 29 specimens, and began attempting to identify the animal.
Yap told The Straits Times, “It’s such a chaotic group of animals, and everything appears the same.”
“It begins with a tremendous deal of unpredictability. Is it an entirely new species? “Isn’t it?” Yap stated. “Eventually, the narrative transforms into a detective story in which you must collect all of the evidence and clues to determine the identity of the new species.”
After sifting through archives of known sea anemones and comparing them to the unidentified organisms, researchers realized they had discovered a new species: the tiger anemone, or Macrodactyla fautinae.
According to the study, the tiger anemone has a cylindrical body that can reach a little over 7.5 centimeters in diameter. It possesses 96 “smooth” tentacles with a brown-white patterned pattern.
The central body of the sea anemone is ivory with pink wart-like bumps. These ridges can expel water when the animal contracts, similar to a “watering can.”
According to the study, the tiger anemone is also capable of turning its throat inside out, a behavior that has confounded scientists.
Yap stated, “We do not know why it does this, but we hypothesize that it is used to capture prey.”
The anemone has stinging structures along its pharynx that are exposed when it turns inside out.
A photo posted on Facebook by co-author Ria Tan depicts a tiger anemone in this position.
The tiger anemone can capture much larger prey and consume it whole, according to the study.
Another image shared by Tan depicts a similar capture. The prey was identified by Yap as a marine pen.
Similar to other cnidarians, the group of animals that includes jellyfish, sea anemones are poisonous and can puncture. Yap stated that sea anemones with battery-like stingers are more painful.
The tiger anemone lacks these “batteries,” so its sting “may not be that painful”; however, “we know so little about this anemone that it is unknown whether it is hazardous to humans.”
Read more: Mysterious Shark Discovery: Unusual Find On Riverbank Stuns Idaho Officials
Discovery of a New Solitary Tiger Anemone Species on Singapore’s Northern Coast
According to the study, tiger anemones are “solitary” organisms that inhabit sandy or silty environments.
The novel species has only been discovered along Singapore’s northern coast.
The scientific name for the new species, “fautinae,” was chosen in honor of Daphne Fautin, the scientist who first suspected it was an unidentified marine anemone, according to researchers.
According to researchers, Fautin labored tirelessly throughout her career to advance knowledge of sea anemones.
Yap explained that the tiger anemone’s common name alludes to “its striped tentacles” and hunting abilities.
Singaporean locals referred to the animal as a “tiger anemone” and a “purple-lip sand anemone” prior to its scientific discovery.
The new species was determined to be distinct based on its body shape, size, coloration, behavior, and DNA.
Nicholas Wei Liang Yap, Michela Lee Mitchell, Zheng Bin Randolph Quek, Ria Tan, Koh Siang Tan, and Danwei Huang comprised the research team.
Read more: New York Hosts Pokémon Go Fest 2023: A Global Gathering Of Trainers From Around The World
