En overraskende ny sommerfuglefisk er beskrevet fra den filippinske tusmørkezone og udstilling

En nyligt beskrevet art af brun-hvid filippinsk sommerfuglefisk - den karismatiske Roa rumsfeldi -lavede en fantastisk, 7, 000-mile rejse, før du overrasker videnskabsmænd med sin ukendte status. Levende prøver indsamlet fra 360 fod under havets overflade i den filippinske Verde Island Passage undslap særlig opmærksomhed, indtil en enkelt sort finne-rygrad tippede akvariebiologer tilbage i San Francisco. Dybdykningsforskere fra California Academy of Sciences' Hope for Reefs-team – med genetisk sekventeringshjælp fra et forældre-søn-team – deler deres opdagelse af en femte art af Roa i denne uge i ZooKeys .

"Vi gav denne revfisk navn Roa rumsfeldi fordi, som Donald Rumsfeld engang sagde, nogle ting er virkelig 'ukendte ukendte', '" siger seniorforfatter Dr. Luiz Rocha, Akademikurator for iktyologi og medleder af dets Hope for Reefs-initiativ til forskning, udforske, og opretholde globale rev. "Denne fisk fangede os fuldstændig på vagt. Efter at have rejst fra Filippinernes dybe rev til vores akvarium i San Francisco, tidligere Academy akvariebiolog og medforfatter Matt Wandell bemærkede en sort finnerygrad, der så anderledes ud end andre kendte Roa, vi tidligere har indsamlet. Det var et pære-øjeblik for os alle."

Sommerfuglefisk - som har dristige mønstre - er ikoniske koralrevsarter. Fordi denne gruppes taksonomi er relativt godt forstået, videnskabsmænd forventede ikke at finde en ukendt art på en nylig ekspedition.

Under pres

Roa rumsfeldi og dens nære slægtninge er kun kendt for at leve i mesofotiske "tusmørkezone"-rev - et sted, hvor sollys er sjældent, og dykkere med traditionelt dykkerudstyr ikke sikkert kan besøge. I det smalle bånd mellem de lysfyldte lavvandede rev og det kulsorte dybe hav, disse lidet kendte mesofotiske rev, placeret 200 til 500 fod under havets overflade, er hjemsted for fascinerende mangfoldigt og hidtil ukendt havliv. Som en del af sit Hope for Reefs initiativ, specialuddannede akademiforskere udforsker disse relativt ukendte grænser ved hjælp af højteknologisk udstyr som lukket kredsløbsrebreather, som tager omfattende træning og giver dem mulighed for at forlænge deres forskningstid under vandet.

Som en del af deres ekspeditionsdrevne forskning, Rocha og hans akademikolleger samler nogle gange levende fisk, som de mener er ukendte arter, for at studere deres adfærd (som giver mere robust forskning) og inspirere offentligheden til at forbinde med smukt og unikt revliv under akvariebesøg.

"Vores menneskelige kroppe er ikke rigtig komprimerbare, " siger Bart Shepherd, Direktør for Steinhart Aquarium og medleder af Akademiets Hope for Reefs-initiativ, "but fish have swim bladders for buoyancy that can't make the journey from twilight zone depths to the surface. We gently moved this Roa to a special lightweight decompression chamber designed just for fish, brought it to the surface, and attentively cared for it through the flight back to San Francisco and into our aquarium."

A family affair

"The team effort between our museum's scientists and aquarium biologists helped add a new fish to the tree of life, " says Rocha, adding that the collaboration isn't the only reason this fish discovery feels particularly special. "My teenage son Gabriel helped sequence its genes during a summer internship—his mother and I helped show him how to use complicated genomic processes to take a closer look at the fish's DNA. This is part of how we prove a species is distinct, and it's always a pleasure to share that learning with young people."

Gabriel Rocha, a high school sophomore at the time, helped sequence the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I gene, also known as the "barcode" gene. The process from DNA extraction to amplification and sequencing takes just a few days—an ideal project for short, in-depth internships. After the sequence is obtained, the work moves from the lab to the virtual world:Major online databases contain thousands of sequences of this gene for known species, and are a great comparison tool.

New discoveries and Hope for Reefs

Considered the "rainforests of the sea, " coral reefs are some of the most biologically diverse, economically valuable, smuk, and threatened ecosystems on Earth. They cover less than 0.1% of the ocean but contain more than 30% of marine species. Coral reefs provide critical habitat to vast marine communities—from the tiny coral polyps that make up the reef's foundation to the colorful fishes and sharks that live among them. Coral reefs are integral to the livelihoods and well-being of hundreds of millions of people worldwide, providing protection from erosion and generating income through ecotourism and fishing.

In response to coral reef threats, the Academy launched the Hope for Reefs initiative in 2016 to explore, explain, and sustain the world's coral reefs by making fundamental breakthroughs in coral reef biology; developing new conservation solutions and restoration techniques with partners like SECORE International and The Nature Conservancy; and sharing what we know through innovative exhibits and educational programs.

Every Academy expedition yields new understanding and surprising discoveries, and the public can see new and rare species, many of which have never been displayed in a public aquarium, at Steinhart Aquarium. Explore the great unknown alongside our scientists as they uncover the secrets of our world's critically important reefs. Visitors to the Academy's aquarium can take a closer look at many mesophotic marine creatures from around the world—and discover why they deserve protection—in Twilight Zone:Deep Reefs Revealed.