(Press-News.org) Researchers from Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) have discovered a deep-sea limpet species 5,922 metres beneath the northwestern Pacific Ocean, marking the deepest known habitat for any true limpet (subclass Patellogastropoda).
Described as a new species in the open-access journal Zoosystematics and Evolution, the limpet was found on hard volcanic rock 500 kilometres southeast of Tokyo, Japan. The gastropod measures up to 40.5 mm in shell length, a remarkably large size for a true limpet from such depths.
The new species was named Bathylepeta wadatsumi, a reference to Wadatsumi, the god of the sea in Japanese mythology, and the character “Large Monk” Wadatsumi, from the manga series ONE PIECE. The character’s enormous size mirrors that of the newly discovered limpet.
The researchers behind the discovery paid further homage to the world’s most popular manga series in their acknowledgements, writing:
“We also take this opportunity to salute Eiichiro Oda for continuing to chart the epic voyage of ONE PIECE (1997–), which reminds us that the greatest voyages are driven by freedom, camaraderie, and an insatiable thirst for discovery.”
The new species was collected using the crewed submersible DSV Shinkai 6500, making it the first time a member of the genus Bathylepeta has been observed and photographed live on its natural rocky substrate, rather than being dredged using a net. The use of submersibles is instrumental in accessing these habitats, allowing for direct observation and collection of previously overlooked organisms.
Dr. Chong Chen, lead author of the research paper, said: “Even in an age of sophisticated remotely operated vehicles, there’s often an edge to the human eye on the seafloor. Crewed submersibles like Shinkai 6500 let us explore with intention and nuance—spotting lifeforms like Bathylepeta wadatsumi that might otherwise be missed entirely.”
Beyond its taxonomic significance, the study has broader ecological implications as B. wadatsumi appears to graze on sediment layers over rock, indicating a specialised role in processing organic matter in deep-sea ecosystems.
The findings underscore the need for more comprehensive explorations of rocky abyssal habitats using submersibles to reveal the true diversity and distribution of Bathylepeta and other animals relying on such habitats.
Original source
Chen C, Tsuda M, Ishitani Y (2025) A new large-sized lepetid limpet from the abyssal northwestern Pacific is the deepest known patellogastropod. Zoosystematics and Evolution 101(3): 1249-1058. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.101.156207
END
Record-breaking ‘gigantic’ deep-sea limpet species named after ONE PIECE character
2025-07-24
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
When should preventive mastectomy be offered for women at higher risk of breast cancer
2025-07-24
UNDER STRICT EMBARGO UNTIL 4PM (UK TIME) 11 AM (US EASTERN TIME) ON THURSDAY 24 JULY 2025
When should preventive mastectomy be offered for women at higher risk of breast cancer
Peer reviewed | Simulation/ modelling
More women at higher risk of breast cancer should be offered a mastectomy, according to researchers at Queen Mary and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. A new analysis has found that the surgical technique was a cost-effective way of reducing the likelihood of developing breast cancer compared to breast screening ...
Study compares common type 2 diabetes drugs, finding higher cardiovascular risk for one medication
2025-07-24
New research from investigators at Mass General Brigham suggests that a commonly used type 2 diabetes medication is linked to a higher rate of heart-related conditions compared to medications that hit other targets. The study examined nationwide data from nearly 50,000 patients treated with different sulfonylureas and found that glipizide – the most widely used drug in the U.S. within this category – was linked to higher incidence of heart failure, related hospitalization and death compared to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors. ...
Reshaping tumor neighborhoods to give treatments a boost
2025-07-24
Cancer cells and tumors do not exist in a vacuum. Far from the isolation and self-sufficiency of the fictional Wakanda, tumors develop in and alter the nearby milieu of immune cells, connective tissue, blood vessels and a sea of proteins and carbohydrates that provide structure and other supportive functions.
Cancer cells interact with this neighborhood — which scientists term the tumor microenvironment — in many ways, including obtaining extra resources needed to fuel their unchecked growth. Like a fishing trawler deploying its net, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) ...
Racial differences in care quality among men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer
2025-07-24
About The Study: Among men with traditional Medicare, this study examined racial differences in 2 important measures of prostate cancer care quality that have contrasting relationships with utilization. Black men had lower odds of confirmatory testing among those on active surveillance, where utilization and quality are tightly aligned, indicating worse care. Conversely, Black men had lower odds of overtreatment, where utilization and quality are misaligned, suggesting better care in this dimension.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Arnav Srivastava, MD, MPH, MS, email srivasar@med.umich.edu.
To access ...
Defining lifetime risk thresholds for breast cancer surgical prevention
2025-07-24
About The Study: In this economic evaluation, undergoing risk-reducing mastectomy (RRM) appears cost-effective for women ages 30 to 55 with a lifetime breast cancer risk of 35% or higher. These results could have significant clinical implications to expand access to RRM beyond BRCA1/BRCA2/PALB2 pathogenic variant carriers. Future studies evaluating the acceptability, uptake, and long-term outcomes of RRM among these women are warranted.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Ranjit Manchanda, MD, PhD, email r.manchanda@qmul.ac.uk.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The ...
Study finds large language models (LLMs) use stigmatizing language about individuals with alcohol and substance use disorders
2025-07-24
As artificial intelligence is rapidly developing and becoming a growing presence in healthcare communication, a new study addresses a concern that large language models (LLMs) can reinforce harmful stereotypes by using stigmatizing language. The study from researchers at Mass General Brigham found that more than 35% of responses in answers related to alcohol- and substance use-related conditions contained stigmatizing language. But the researchers also highlight that targeted prompts can be used to substantially reduce stigmatizing language in the LLMs’ answers. Results are published in The Journal of Addiction Medicine.
“Using patient-centered language can build ...
New study in Ukraine indicates significant lifetime exposure and ongoing transmission of hepatitis B and C viruses among the general population
2025-07-24
A study just published on Eurosurveillance has found evidence of substantial lifetime exposure to hepatitis B and C viruses in Ukraine in a 2021 nationwide, representative sample of the population, with findings also suggesting significant ongoing circulation of these viruses.
Ahead of World Hepatitis Day 2025, viral hepatitis remains a major global health concern, and is one of the priority infectious diseases under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3. [1][2] The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Hepatitis ...
K-biofoundry develops international standard language to unite synthetic biology laboratories worldwide
2025-07-24
The National Biofoundry Project Team at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), led by Dr. Haseong Kim, has spearheaded an international joint research effort (including institutions from Korea, the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, and others—10 in total) to create a new standard framework that simplifies and enhances the accuracy and efficiency of synthetic biology research. This framework is anticipated to serve as an international standard for biofoundries—automated laboratories in synthetic biology.
Driven by advancements in deep-tech fields such as synthetic biology ...
Reliance on administrative billing codes to track medical conditions can lead to high diagnostic error rates
2025-07-24
Use of billing codes in big data sets to find diagnoses can result in up to two-thirds of cases being mistakenly identified, new UCLA-led research finds.
Databases frequently used for medical research such as those for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or the National Inpatient Survey typically rely on ambulatory billing codes to identify diseases or medical procedures, but their accuracy is rarely verified in publications that rely on this data, the researchers write in a report published in the peer-reviewed journal ...
Most hospital visits of impaired, terminal nursing home residents are avoidable
2025-07-24
Hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits can be distressing and costly for nursing home residents – especially those who are severely impaired or terminally ill. Despite their vulnerability, these individuals are frequently transferred to hospitals, even though up to 40% of such transfers over the past 25 years are considered potentially avoidable by health care professionals.
These unnecessary transfers not only cause distress and discomfort for residents and families but also lead to hospital-acquired complications and added costs for the health care system. In the United States, hospital transfers from nursing homes significantly ...