Sea creature — with 170 eyes — found lurking under rock in China. It’s a new species

Aspen Pflughoeft
·2 min read
22

A team of scientists in southern China recently took a trip to the seashore, but the visit wasn’t a typical beach vacation. They were searching for unfamiliar-looking sea creatures.

And they found one in the form of a new species with about 170 eyes.

Researchers visited the rocky shoreline of Huidong in 2023 to survey sea life in the intertidal zone, according to a study published April 12 in the peer-reviewed journal Zoosystematics and Evolution.

While there, researchers found three small, “flat” worms, the study said. They took a closer look at the sea animals and realized they’d discovered a new species: Prosthiostomum huidongense, or the Huidong marine flatworm.

Huidong marine flatworms can reach about a half-inch in length, the study said. They have oval-shaped, “elongated” bodies with “rounded ends.” Photos show the worm’s overall body shape and pinkish coloring.

A Prosthiostomum huidongense, or Huidong marine flatworm, as seen from above (left) and below (right).
A Prosthiostomum huidongense, or Huidong marine flatworm, as seen from above (left) and below (right).

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Like other related marine flatworms, the new species has both male and female genitalia, the study said.

Huidong marine flatworms have at least 170 eyes on their heads, researchers said. Most of these eyes, 140 of them, are arranged in a rainbow-shaped band near the top of their head. The rest of the eyes, between 30 and 40 of them, are grouped in a separate “inverted ‘V’ shape.”

A diagram shows the arrangement of the new species’ eyes. On the worm, these eyes look like small black dots.

A diagram (left) and close-up photo (right) show the eyes of a Prosthiostomum huidongense, or Huidong marine flatworm.
A diagram (left) and close-up photo (right) show the eyes of a Prosthiostomum huidongense, or Huidong marine flatworm.

The new species is part of a group of marine flatworms commonly referred to as polyclads. Polyclads are “free-living,” typically marine-dwelling worms that are “important predators,” feeding on crustaceans, oysters and other sea animals.

Huidong marine flatworms were found “under rocks at the intertidal zone.”

Researchers said they named the new species after the Huidong area where it was discovered and, so far, the only area where it has been found.

Huidong is a coastal county in Guangdong province. The county borders the South China Sea and is about 60 miles northeast of Hong Kong.

The new species was identified by its coloring, eye arrangement, genitalia and other subtle physical features, the study said. DNA analysis found the new species had at least 20% genetic divergence from other related species.

The research team included Hai-Long Liu, Da-Hao Lin, An-Tai Wang, Zhang-Li Hu and Yu Zhang.

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