Rare Starfish Found on Peru Coast

Peruvian marine biologists discover three rare species of starfish in the Pacific Ocean.

Published

over 1 year ago

Categories

Science, Wildlife

Topics

Wildlife

Places

Peru, Pacific Ocean

Tags

deep sea exploration, ocean exploration, new species, ocean life, marine biology, marine life, starfish, animal

Transcript

Marine biologists on a diving expedition to find rare species off the northern coast of Peru.And Yuri Hooker from Peru's National Park Service is in luck - picking up an uncommon Paulia Horrida starfish.Hooker says the team also collected two other rare starfish species.SOUNDBITE: Yuri Hooker, biologist at the Peruvian Marine Park, saying (Spanish):"All three of the species we found are starfish, but they have very different habitats. For example, Astropecten regalis, from Los Manglares, lives in very shallow water and eats very small organisms like worms and organic matter that accumulate in the sand where it lives. The second species is Paulia horrida. It's a little known species, possibly because it's a deep water starfish. We found it scuba diving at 35 metres (115 feet). Although we know the area very well, we had never found it in shallower water."Hooker says Peru's waters have not been extensively explored and could hold more undiscovered treasures - something he and his colleagues are promoting.SOUNDBITE: Yuri Hooker, biologist at the Peruvian Marine Park, saying (Spanish):"Few people are researching Peru's oceans. The probability of finding new species is rather large and we try to convince new researchers to study the ocean's biodiversity."And with any luck, many more seldom seen species will be spotted in these remote waters.Tara Cleary, Reuters.