Niwa's 'show-off piece' may be new species

KENT BLECHYNDEN/ The Dominion Post

IT'S ALL IN THE LEGS: Niamh Kilgallen with an amphipod found in the Kermadec Ridge. It is believed to be a previously unknown species.

FAVOURITE FIND: Shane Ahyong holds a giant deep-sea slater found in the Caribbean.

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A small sea creature, found in the murky, mysterious depths of the Kermadec Ridge, is causing a stir among scientists.

The amphipod, now kept in ethanol at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research's collections, is believed to be a species never seen on dry land before.

Research scientist Niamh Kilgallen said the amphipod had been collected by Niwa scientists at the ridge, northeast of New Zealand, in 2002, but initially staff members had not believed it was a new species.

However, late last year staff at work reorganising and registering the 100,000 items held in the institute's collection took another look.

There were only three known species of the type of amphipod they believed this one belonged to, but Dr Kilgallen said its leg shape and ridges were different from those already known.

She was spending the summer trying to establish whether or not any other amphipod like this one had been found.

"It's initially a bit of a buzz when you think you have something new, and then you get into the work and all the double-checking the other ones out there."

The amphipod had become the collection's "show-off piece" as it was in good condition and relatively large.

Niwa's collection of invertebrates has been building up since the 1950s, and in addition to the pieces collected by staff on trips, it also contained items found by the public and biosecurity officers.

For research scientist Shane Ahyong, who has worked with the collection for about five years, one of his favourite pieces is a giant deep-sea slater.

It was found in Caribbean waters, and while none of these sea creatures are known to exist around New Zealand, Dr Ahyong is hopeful they will one day be found because they are already known to inhabit Australian waters.

He said there was an amazing range of new species being found in the sea around New Zealand, but checking those against all the existing named species around the world took scientists a great deal of time.

For Dr Kilgallen, discovering that items found in deep waters were new to science was the most satisfying.

"If it's from the deep, it feels a little bit special.

"You can't just go to the shore and pick it up out of the water."

- © Fairfax NZ News