During the 2012 field season of the Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) in Curaçao, Smithsonian scientists collected many specimens with the help of the Curasub. Prospective new species were caught on almost every dive as the scientists explored the biodiversity of the mid- and deep-sea ecosystems.
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Collections from Curaçao
Sea Toad Specimen from Caribbean
Credit: Barry Brown/Substation CuracaoA year in the waiting! During the summer of 2011, DROP researchers almost caught a sea toad off of Curaçao. However, when the sub crew tried to collect the sea toad with the sub's suction tube, the fish inflated itself with water becoming too large for the tube. The skilled crew maneuvered the robotic arm and sub to gently place the sea toad in an open collection crate attached to the submersible. This container works well for things that don't move much, but when the sub made a descent, the fish floated out of the container and swam off. All the researchers came back with was a photo of the fish swimming away. That loss and a year's wait make this week's find all the sweeter!
The sea toad in this photo (Chaunax spp.) was collected at approximately 253 meters (830 ft.). Like all sea toads, it has modified pectoral fins it uses to walk along the bottom. Sea toads are anglerfish, as are frogfishes and monkfishes. Anglerfish have lures on the top of their heads: frilly in some species, long and arching in others, and bioluminescent in many deep-sea species. This sea toad's lure resembles a short white mop. There are two known species of sea toads in the Caribbean. Morphological comparison and DNA analysis of this speciman will determine if it is one of these known species.
Purple Sea Urchin
Credit: Trish Mace, Smithsonian InstitutionThis purple urchin Paleopneustes cristatus is seldom seen by itself, and can be found in groups of hundreds. Dr. Dave Pawson, a senior scientist at NMNH who studies deep-sea echinoderms, is testing if the fertilized eggs of this urchin sink or are buoyant, an important question in figuring out this urchin's life cycle. This urchin specimen was collected at around 800 feet during the 2012 field season of the Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP).
Notice the "mohawk" look of this urchin. They keep their top spines angled over the three large pores through which eggs or sperm are released. It is thought that this covering with spines protects the pores from parasites or predators.
A Baby Moray Eel, or a Really Small Adult?
Credit: Trish Mace, Smithsonian InstitutionThis is an unidentified moray eel, collected from 650 feet off the coast of Curacao. Morays are very secretive animals that tend to stay hidden in caves and crevices. Researchers with the Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP) don't yet know if this is a young eel, or a small full-grown one. By analyzing this moray's DNA and comparing it to DNA from known morays in the Caribbean, they will determine if this small eel is a juvenile of a known species.
Tusk Shell Hermit Crab
Credit: Barry Brown/Substation CuracaoWhen this tusk shell was brought up from the deep reef, it was a surprise when a hermit crab poked out! Notice the hermit crab's large claw that it can use to tightly cover the shell opening when it retracts into the shell. Dr. Rafael Lemaitre, NMNH curator of decapod Crustacea, has identified this hermit crab as Pylopagurus discoidalis.
In the past, deep-sea animals like this one could only be collected from ships using awkward trawls or dredges, and then sent to museums where they might sit for decades before being identified. By that time, the animal's bright color would fade away. That process is a far cry from what's going on here in Curacao with the Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP), where specimens are quickly and carefully examined one by one, given a code number, photographed, DNA sampled, and identified by taxonomic experts—with their true colors preserved.
Little Sea Star
Credit: Trish Mace, Smithsonian InstitutionIt’s an honor to have something or someone named after you. Dr. David Pawson, Senior Research Scientist and Curator of Echinoderms at NMNH, has several genera and species, living and fossil, named after him. He says this little sea star, Pawsonaster parvus, is by far the prettiest! It is a small pentagonal species, little more than an inch across (hence the species name parvus, from Latin for "small"), orange on top and whitish underneath. It lives in depths of 30-600 meters, and it is known to live from the coast of North Carolina, through the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, to Uruguay in South America. This specimen was collected by the DROP team off Curaçao.
Sea Cucumber in Curaçao
Credit: Barry Brown/Substation CuracaoSea cucumbers might have a cucumber shape, but are definitely animal, not vegetable… or fruit. They belong to the Phylum Echinodermata, which also includes sea urchins, sand dollars, sea stars and brittle stars. This specimen, Holothuria sp., was collected by submersible at about 252 meters (830 feet) depth off Curaçao and placed in an aquarium. A few hours later, a small pearlfish swam out of its anus! This pearlfish is not the one that was living inside this sea cucumber, but it's very similar.
Pearlfish from a Sea Cucumber
Credit: Cristina Castillo, Smithsonian InstitutionPearlfish are slender, eel-shaped fish that often live inside various invertebrates including sea cucumbers. Because a sea cucumber breathes by taking in water through its anus, a pearlfish can wait for the cucumber to open for a breath and swim in.
The relationship between pearlfish and sea cucumbers is beneficial to the pearlfish, providing shelter for this slender, scaleless, and often translucent fish. The relationship may be commensal, in which no harm is done to the host sea cucumber, but in some species the pearlfish can function as a parasite, causing harm to its host by eating its gonads and other internal organs! Pearlfish are most common in tropical shallow-water sea cucumbers, but they have been found in hosts in depths of up to 2,000 meters! There may be just one pearlfish to a sea cucumber, but some sea cucumbers may shelter five or more pearlfish. Other animals, including oysters and sea stars, can also play host to pearl fish.
A New Cone Snail - Attenuiconus marileeae
Credit: Photo by Jerry HarasewychThis new cone snail was discovered by using the front tray of the Curasub to scoop up bottles that had been discarded into the ocean and settled between 130 and 168 meters. The age of the bottles ranged from mid-19th century to modern. Many of the shells had at least one drill hole, and were likely brought into the bottles as food by small octopuses. This new species is named in honor of Marilee McNeilus in recognition of her longstanding interest in mollusks and her support of research. She participated in the submersible dives and assisted with the specimen sorting that led to the discovery of this new species.
Golden Basslet
Credit: Images from Barry Brown, Substation Curacao and Cedric Guigand, University of MiamiThis new sea bass is one of two new species of “golden basses” that have been discovered while submersible diving off Curaçao. Although adults are known only from Curaçao, scientists used DNA and morphological data to show that the fish on the left is the adult form of the striking larval fish on the right discovered in a plankton sample from the Florida Straits. The authors describe the new species and how they connected it to a larval fish clear across the Caribbean in the research journal PLoS One.
Golden Bass - Liopropoma santi
Credit: Carole Baldwin, Courtesy of Substation CuracaoThis new “golden bass” has the deepest depth range (182 to 241 meters) of any known western Atlantic species of Liopropoma basses. Without the ability to visit deep reefs and make collections with the hydraulic arms of the submersible, this species likely would have continued to go undetected. It is very secretive, darting into cracks or crevices when approached. The species name “santi” honors Roger and Victoria Sant and is in recognition of the support they have given to Smithsonian ocean-related activities. Roger participated in a submersible dive off Curaçao during which a specimen of the new species was collected.
Flame Scallop
Credit: Carole Baldwin, Courtesy of Substation CuracaoThe description of this new species of “flame scallop” will be published this year by Smithsonian Curator Emeritus Jerry Harasewych in the Journal of Molluscan Studies. Found at depths of 250 to 300 meters, this bivalve mollusk belongs to the Miocene Genus Mantellina.
Blenny Fish - Haptoclinus dropi
Credit: Carole Baldwin and Ross RobertsonThis little blenny fish is mature at only 21.5 mm (less than one inch!) in length. It represents the second known species of the genus Haptoclinus. Because it is the first of many new species discovered through submersible diving as part of the Smithsonian’s Deep Reef Observation Project (DROP), the authors gave it the species name “dropi.”