[New Paper] Two shrimp species, Rimicaris loihi and R. cambonae, live side by side at hydrothermal vents — yet remain genetically distinct. Our genomic data and decadal sampling reveal insights on their demography and speciation! Out now in Molecular Ecology, OPEN ACCESS: doi.org/10.1111/mec....

[New Paper] names Chaetoderma naga, a gigantic (>13 cm) new worm-mollusc from a cold seep! Like its sister-species C. shenloong, it probably relies on endosymbiotic bacteria for energy. We named it after Nāga, a snake-god from Asian mythologies! Out now in Moll. Res., LINK: doi.org/10.1080/1323...

[New Paper] in Zootaxa names new genus Lobatoradarea in the amphipod family Calliopiidae, with 10 new species found across a wide range of marine habitats from shallow subtidal waters to a deep-sea hydrothermal vent! Link to the paper: mapress.com/zt/article/v...

We disembarked from research vessel R/V YOKOSUKA in #Chichijima Island, #Bonin ( #Ogasawara ) Islands! The only way back to the main island of Japan is by a biweekly 24-hours ferry trip, so we got a couple days to see the islands!

[New Paper] Names Pyropelta artemis, a new deep-sea limpet from the Off Hatsushima seep in Japan! This species 'shape-shifts' its shell to fit the substrate shape, which we likened to the moon's waxing and waning. Just out in Contributions to Zoology, OPEN ACCESS: brill.com/view/journal...

Rare shots of JAMSTEC deep-sea research vessels: recovering HOV SHINKAI 6500 with the drilling vessel CHIKYU in the background! Suruga Bay, Japan.

NEW #DEEPSEA SNAIL WITH HARD SCALES! #molluscmonday

[New Paper] We found a SECOND SNAIL with HARD SCALES on the foot -- Ifremeria nautilei lives in deep-sea hot vents and makes chitinous scales not by secretion but by cell differentiation, like our own skin! @royalsocietypublishing.org Proceedings B, OPEN ACCESS: doi.org/10.1098/rspb...

This article in BBC Wildlife outlines the discovery of a 'giant' limpet discovered 5,922m below the Pacific, described by @squamiferum.bsky.social in @zse.pensoft.net. www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts...

JAMSTECのしんかい6500の調査で、新種の巨大カサガイBathylepeta wadatsumiを発見 今までの同属の3 cmを上回る殻長40.5 mmという巨大さから漫画ONE PIECEに出てくる大入道ワダツミと日本神話の海神からwadatsumiと命名 謝辞や参考文献にONE PIECE魚人編が引用されています 【原著論文、画像引用元 (CC BY 4.0)】 zse.pensoft.net/article/1562...

[New Paper] in @zse.pensoft.net names Bathylepeta wadatsumi, the world’s DEEPEST true limpet from 6 km deep! Giant sized (4 cm) for this depth, we named it after the god of sea in Japan & also the Large Monk “Wadatsumi” from the manga series ONE PIECE! OPEN ACCESS: doi.org/10.3897/zse....

A new species of deep-sea limpet, discovered 6 km beneath the northwestern Pacific, has beeen named after a #ONEPIECE character. Find out why on the @pensoft.net blog: blog.pensoft.net/2025/07/24/n...

[New Paper] in European J of Taxonomy names 1 new genus and 3 new species of XENOPHYOPHORES -- giant single-celled foraminifera! We integrate in situ imagery, dissection, SEM, micro-CT, and molecular phylogeny for unprecedentedly detailed descriptions for xenos. OPEN ACCESS: doi.org/10.5852/ejt....

[New Paper] Reveals 4 distinct metapopulations in the hot vent mussel Bathymodiolus septemdierum found across the Indo-W Pacific! With implications for conservation in the face of upcoming deep-sea mining. Out now in Journal of Biogeography, OPEN ACCESS: doi.org/10.1111/jbi....

[New Paper] reporting 8 distinct mollusc eggs from abyssal and hadal depths of Aleutian Trench is now out in Progress in Oceanography! With a potential Dumbo Octopus egg + at least 5 snail eggs! OPEN ACCESS: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... With @sigwartae.bsky.social @oceanspecies.bsky.social

[New Paper] Uses phylogenomics to resolve how deep-sea symbiotic vesicomyid clams evolved to conquer the abyss; revising some the genus-level taxonomy along the way! Just out in the journal Cladistics, read for FREE here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...

[New Paper] @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social reports three capitellid polychaetes from Indian Ocean deep-sea hot vents, two of them described as new species! Phylogenetic analysis reveals two independent origins of capitellids in chemosynthetic ecosystems. FREE ACCESS: academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/a...

[New Paper] in The Nautilus names Naquetia confusa, a new species of muricid snail from Palawan, Philippines! It was previously confused with the morphologically similar N. vokesae from the Indian Ocean. Read the paper: www.researchgate.net/publication/...

[New Paper] @zoojlinnsoc.bsky.social presents 2 NEW deep-sea vent snails from Atlantic! Being giants for their genera, they're named after the giants "Gargantua and Pantagruel" in François Rabelais' novels. Peltospira gargantua is likely to have symbionts! OPEN ACCESS: doi.org/10.1093/zool...

We’re off on a R/V Yokosuka / SHINKAI 6500 cruise ! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSV_Shi...

The Divine Dragon Glistenworm (Chaetoderma shenloong) we named is one of the TOP-TEN MARINE SPECIES OF 2024 @WRMarineSpecies !! It is actually a wormy mollusc from methane seeps, and uses a new organelle “dracosphera” (“Dragon Ball”) to house symbiotic bacteria! Our paper: doi.org/10.3897/zse....

(2/10) Although it looks like a worm, the Divine Dragon Glistenworm is actually a mollusc! marinespecies.org/worms-top-te... @squamiferum.bsky.social #toptenmarinespecies #taxonomistappreciationday #OceanDecade #GenOcean #marinespecies #deepsea

Read 'Integrative morphological, mitogenomic and phylogenetic analyses reveal new vent-dwelling scallop species' by Yi-Tao Lin, Ying-Bei Peng, @squamiferum.bsky.social, Ting Xu & Jian-Wen Qiu in Invertebrate Systematics: www.publish.csiro.au/IS/IS24091 #InvertebrateSys Photo: Yi-Tao Lin 4/4

From Ecology's #TheScientificNaturalist series: a relationship that blooms anew after 200+ million years...but with different players 👇

FINALLY! a possible explanation for the snail on stalked crinoids we saw during #Okeanos EX1705! #molluscmonday #echinoday

This is very cool, especially if you're familiar with the #fossil record of #crinoid + #gastropod associations!

[New Paper] in Ecology reveals deep-sea snails in family Laubierinidae as obligate associates of crinoids (likely parasitic), including first-ever in situ observations of all 4 genera! This relationship was last seen in fossils >200 mil years old! FREE READ: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...

VOTE NOW! Mollusc of the Year 2025 Arctica islandica - world’s oldest mollusc Cellana exarata - Hawaiian limpet Glaucus atlanticus - blue dragon Muusoctopus sp. - Dorado Octopus Xenophora conchyliophora - shell / collector YOU decide - we do its genome moty.senckenberg.science @cgreve.bsky.social

[New Paper] in @commsbio.bsky.social analyses the scale and shell proteomes of the Scaly-foot Snail! We show that the scale largely contains co-opted proteins found in shells of other molluscs -- and the shell actually has more novel proteins than the scale! OPEN ACCESS: doi.org/10.1038/s420...

New open access paper with Kasia Voncina, who designed new primers to successfully get COI barcodes from old chitons in museum collections link.springer.com/article/10.1...

𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗰 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲: A ground-breaking study in @science.org unravels the evolutionary history of molluscs: tinyurl.com/MolluscTree @sgn.one @sigwartae.bsky.social @kmkocot.bsky.social @squamiferum.bsky.social @vans-gonzalez.bsky.social @cgreve.bsky.social @mkyapchiongco.bsky.social

Here is the mollusc tree. (We fixed it, you're welcome.) 😇 @sgn.one @oceanspecies.bsky.social @kmkocot.bsky.social @squamiferum.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

[New Paper] is on the COVER of @science.org !! FIRST genome-phylogeny of MOLLUSCS (snails, clams, octopus, etc.) complete with ALL classes —incl. the mythical "living fossil" Monoplacophora— reveals how they evolved the most diverse body forms of all animals! OPEN ACCESS: doi.org/10.1126/scie...

[New Paper] led by @sigwartae.bsky.social in Progress in Oceanography reveals distribution patterns of #deepsea #molluscs from Bering Sea and Aleutian Trench -- using 212 species (>4200 specimens) collected between 3500~7300 m deep! OPEN ACCESS: doi.org/10.1016/j.po... @oceanspecies.bsky.social

Wonderful piece by @sabs.bsky.social on our recent paper “A herd of sea cucumber, flock together”! So much more to learn about these namakos. Read the original paper here: www.researchgate.net/publication/... defector.com/its-snowing-...

A lovely story about a LOT OF SWIMMING SEA CUCUMBERS Peniagone sp. 50 per SQUARE METER by @sabs.bsky.social observed by @squamiferum.bsky.social #Japan defector.com/its-snowing-...

[New Paper] Meet Delectopecten thermus, a new species of Glass Scallop from a deep-sea hot vent in Okinawa Trough, Japan! We also present its mitogenome, the first for this early-diverging pectinid genus; providing key insights to gene order evolution in this family. LINK: doi.org/10.1071/IS24...

research by myself and @joncopley.bsky.social show that #hoffcrabs males, have oversized claws to attract and compete for females - analagous to the giant arms of silverback gorillas #deepsea #hydrothermalvent #yeticrab #univerityofportmsouth: journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

[New Paper] @royalsocietypublishing.org Proceedings B reveals dominant circatidal biological rhythms (~12.4 hr) in the deep-sea hot vent shrimp Rimicaris leurokolos, through a 72 hr free-running experiment + transcriptomic analyses! LINK: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

[新作] インド洋深海熱水からシンカイフネアマガイ属２新種を記載した論文がZoological Journal of the Linnean Societyに掲載! 系統解析の結果、この２種は別々に(おそらく西太平洋から)インド洋に進出したことが判明。米チームの初発見から約25年、ついに名前がつきました。 リンク: doi.org/10.1093/zool...

[New Paper] Describing and naming two new deep-sea limpets in the genus Shinkailepas from Indian Ocean hydrothermal vents is now out in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society! Molecular phylogeny revealed these two species invaded Indian Ocean separately. Link: doi.org/10.1093/zool...

Happy New Year! あけましておめでとうございます！

[新作] 世界で初めて「深海透明ナマコが群集で泳ぐ」ことを報告した論文が Marine Biodiversity 誌に掲載! 数百匹のウシナマコの仲間を "しんかい6500" が天竜海底谷・水深2088 mで激写! 移動・繁殖行動などのために群泳する可能性を示唆。 論文リンク: doi.org/10.1007/s125... ビデオは↓

[New Paper] It's snowing... sea cucumbers! Our paper "A herd of sea cucumber, flock together" is now out in Marine Biodiversity -- reporting for the first time that deep-sea holothurians can swim together in large groups! Link to paper: doi.org/10.1007/s125... Video below ↓

Season's Greetings, and all the best wishes for a wonderful New Year! メリークリスマス・新年のご多幸をお祈り申し上げます。来年もどうぞよろしくお願いいたします。

go.bsky.app/7o7ynVk Deep Sea starter pack! Let me know if you want to be added.

"The Shell Exhibition: Why Are People Fascinated by Shells?" is now underway @ National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo — until March 2, 2025! We showcase the #diversity and #evolution of #Mollusca, as well as the relationship between molluscs and humankind. www.kahaku.go.jp/event/2024/1...

[新作] 伊豆弧・須美寿カルデラ熱水域を20年ぶりに調査、化学合成生態系の動物種多様性を9種から54種に大幅更新 (西太平洋熱水最高記録)! うち25種は少なくとも化学合成生態系固有。 Aquatic Conservation誌・オープンアクセス: doi.org/10.1002/aqc....

[New Paper] Comprehensive survey of Sumisu Caldera hot vent on Izu Arc increases known animal species from 9 to 54, making it the most species-rich vent in the NW Pacific! >25 are endemics to chemosynthetic ecosystems. OPEN ACCESS in Aquatic Conservation: doi.org/10.1002/aqc....