(Press-News.org) A new species of tiny blenniiform fish has been discovered in the biodiversity rich waters of the southern Caribbean. Haptoclinus dropi is only around 2cm in length with a beautiful color pattern that includes iridescence on the fins. The proposed common name of the species is four-fin blenny, due to the division of the dorsal fin into four sections, which is a distinguishing feature of the genus and unique among blenniiform fishes. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys.
This beautiful new species was discovered as a lucky bycatch during targeted specimen catching at 157-167 m depth off Curaçao as a part of the Smithsonian Institution's Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP). The new species, Haptoclinus dropi, gets its name from the project's abbreviation and is one of numerous new ray-finned fish species emerging from this project.
For DROP expeditions the Substation Curaçao's manned submersible Curasub was used to catch specimens. While generally used as tourist attraction because it travels at much greater depths than divers can reach, the Curasub is also used for scientific marine research. Targeted fish specimens are collected with the sub's two flexible, hydraulic arms, but very often small non-targeted fish are also caught in the process.
"Below the depths accessible using scuba gear and above the depths typically targeted by deep-diving submersibles, tropical deep reefs are productive ocean ecosystems that science has largely missed. They are home to diverse assemblages of new and rare species that we are only just beginning to understand," explains the lead author of the study Dr Carole Baldwin, Smithsonian Institution.
INFORMATION:
Original Source:
Baldwin CC, Robertson RD (2013) A new Haptoclinus blenny (Teleostei, Labrisomidae) from deep reefs off Curaзao, southern Caribbean, with comments on relationships of the genus. ZooKeys 306: 71–81, doi: 10.3897/zookeys.306.5198
A lucky catch: A tiny new fish, Haptoclinus dropi, from the southern Caribbean
2013-06-05
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Laser-brightened cirrus clouds
2013-06-05
This news release is available in German.
Can cloud formation, precipitation or thunderstorms be influenced by laser light irradiation? This issue has been investigated by researchers from KIT's Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research – Atmospheric Aerosol Research (IMK-AAF), Freie Universität Berlin, and the University of Geneva. The objective of the studies conducted by head of IMK-AAF Professor Thomas Leisner was to find out whether and in how far laser light and plasma can influence cloud formation.
For their investigations, the researchers used ...
Award-winning researcher developed a method to accurately compare concert hall sound
2013-06-05
Researchers at Aalto University in Finland have developed a method that allows accurate comparisons of concert hall acoustics. The leader of the research group, Associate professor Tapio Lokki, was presented with an International Commission for Acoustics Early Career Award today in Montreal, Canada. The award was given to professor Lokki for outstanding contributions to room acoustics, and in particular for the novel subjective and objective assessment methods of concert halls.
'People have different tastes and unique preferences when it comes to the acoustics of a concert ...
First dual-action compound kills cancer cells, stops them from spreading
2013-06-05
Scientists are reporting development and successful lab tests on the first potential drug to pack a lethal one-two punch against melanoma skin cancer cells. Hit number one destroys cells in the main tumor, and the second hit blocks the spread of the cancer to other sites in the body, according to their report in the journal ACS Chemical Biology.
Nathan Luedtke and colleagues explain that the spread of melanoma and other forms of cancer beyond the original location — a process called metastasis — makes cancer such a serious disease. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), which involves ...
University of Minnesota researchers control flying robot with only the mind
2013-06-05
Researchers in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering have developed a new noninvasive system that allows people to control a flying robot using only their mind. The study goes far beyond fun and games and has the potential to help people who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases.
The study was published today in IOP Publishing's Journal of Neural Engineering. A University of Minnesota video of the robot in action can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpHy-fUyXYk.
Five subjects (three female and two male) who took part ...
New research shows cheese may prevent cavities
2013-06-05
CHICAGO (June 5, 2013)—Consuming dairy products is vital to maintaining good overall health, and it's especially important to bone health. But there has been little research about how dairy products affect oral health in particular. However, according to a new study published in the May/June 2013 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), consuming cheese and other dairy products may help protect teeth against cavities.
The study sampled 68 subjects ranging in age from 12 to 15, and the authors looked at the ...
Strength in numbers when resisting forbidden fruit
2013-06-05
A new study from the University of British Columbia helps explain how people become obsessed with forbidden pleasures.
The study, which will appear in an upcoming edition of Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience journal, shows that when people are forbidden from something, it takes on a new level of focus.
"Our findings show that when individuals are forbidden from everyday objects, our minds and brains pay more attention to them," says lead author Grace Truong, a graduate student in UBC's Dept. of Psychology. "Our brains give forbidden objects the same level ...
Neurochemical traffic signals may open new avenues for the treatment of schizophrenia
2013-06-05
Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have uncovered important clues about a biochemical pathway in the brain that may one day expand treatment options for schizophrenia. The study, published online in the journal Molecular Pharmacology, was led by faculty within the department of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics at BUSM.
Patients with schizophrenia suffer from a life-long condition that can produce delusions, disordered thinking, and breaks with reality. A number of treatments are available for schizophrenia, but many patients do not respond ...
A new scorpion species adds to the remarkable biodiversity of the Ecuadorian Andes
2013-06-05
A new species of scorpion Tityus (Atreus) crassicauda has been discovered from the extraordinarily biodiversity rich region of the Ecuadorian Andes. The intriguing new species is classed as medium sized, but still around the Impressive 5 cm in length. It is distinguished by reddish brown overall coloration, broken by peculiar decoration of 3 longitudinal brown stripes , separated by yellow zones. The study was published in the open access journal Zookeys.
The new species belongs to the genus Tityus, which is part of the scorpion family Buthidae. This genus, with more ...
Teacher collaboration, professional communities improve many elementary school students' math scores
2013-06-05
WASHINGTON, DC, June 5, 2013 — Many elementary students' math performance improves when their teachers collaborate, work in professional learning communities or do both, yet most students don't spend all of their elementary school years in these settings, a new study by UNC Charlotte researchers shows. The U.S. Department of Education funded the study, which the journal Sociology of Education recently published.
As school districts work to improve math scores and narrow racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps, many schools may have overlooked the impact of teacher collaboration ...
Pollution controls increase beach attendance, study shows
2013-06-05
DURHAM, N.C. -- Southern California beaches with storm drain diversion systems attract millions more people annually, a new study in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin shows.
The study looked at whether improving the environmental quality of coastal areas through policy intervention had an effect on the way people use coastal areas. Researchers found a direct correlation between increased attendance and the installation of storm drain diversions at 26 beaches in Santa Monica Bay and Malibu.
"Cost has many municipalities opposed to installing storm drain diversion ...