FUKUYAMA, Hiroshima Prefecture–A sea anemone whose conical body resembles Mount Fuji is not only a new species but also part of a genus and family previously unknown to science, according to Japanese researchers.
Its Japanese name, Umi no Fujisan, which literally means “Mount Fuji in the sea,” pays tribute to the nation’s highest peak as the creature was found in waters overlooked by the 3,776-meter-high volcano.
Based on its distinctive shape, the variant is a new species, genus and family, said Takato Izumi, a taxonomy lecturer at Fukuyama University.
“As the sea anemone is truly shaped like Mount Fuji and was discovered in Suruga Bay, where Mount Fuji dominates the landscape, it was named Umi no Fujisan,” Izumi explained.
The creature has a whitish body and is classically symmetrical like the sacred mountain. It measures 2 centimeters at its base and is 1 cm high.
It was collected at a depth of 311 meters in Suruga Bay off Shizuoka Prefecture in 2003. Since then, the sea anemone has been spotted on more than 10 occasions in waters off Kanagawa, Iwate, Nagasaki and Kochi prefectures, and elsewhere.
While its external appearance conjures up images of Mount Fuji, that fact alone does not distinguish the species from other types of sea anemone. Umi no Fujisan has only 10 membranes to separate the interior structure of its body, whereas most seaflowers have 12.
Taking this and other characteristics into account, the research team concluded that Umi no Fujisan should not be classified as any already known species, genus or family.
The discovery was published in June in the specialized journal Diversity at (https://doi.org/10.3390/d17060430).
It marked the second time Izumi has found a new sea anemone family. Umi no Fujisan ranks as the fifth previously unknown genus Izumi has confirmed.
He described these figures as “the highest among Japanese scientists.”
“A lot of unknown yet intriguing creatures still live in the waters around Japan,” Izumi said.
AloJapan.com