Marine study in Philippine island finds "dozens" of new species
AFP to Yahoo News
July 9, 2004
MANILA (AFP) - An intensive study of marine life off a small island in the central Philippines has possibly yielded "dozens of new species of crabs, shrimps," and other sea creatures, the head of the project revealed.
Philippe Bouchet, senior professor at France's Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), told AFP on Friday that the six-week study off the shores of Panglao town in Bohol had found numerous species possibly not recorded before.
The Panglao Marine Diversity Project 2004 study, partly funded by the French government, the Total Foundation, a local university and regional groups, brought together 60 scientists from 17 countries with diving, dredging and trawling equipment.
None of the species found by the project have names yet and other scientists must be consulted to be sure these are truly undiscovered.
But Bouchet said that with many scientists already at the site, he was "90 to 95 percent" certain that these species had never been identified before.
Among the largest of the new species is a crab whose shell is so well camouflaged that observers thought it was just a rock.
"It looks like a piece of rock. Then you turn it to the other side and you see the legs, the eyes, the mouth," he said.
Bouchet said that many of the new species of crabs, nudibranchs and microshells they found were very small, some only a millimeter long.
Another remarkable discovery was the huge number of species living together in such a small area, Bouchet said.
He remarked that all of Japan had just 1,600 species of crabs and shrimps but Panglao town alone yielded 1,200 species of such animals.
Bounchet said they were also "astounded" to find sea creatures that normally live in waters some 250-400 meters (825-1,320 feet) deep, thriving in just 70-80 meters (231-264 feet) of water in Panglao.
Bouchet said he did not know if this was due to the unique conditions of Panglao, located in an inland sea with deep water but still protected from big waves.
"We do not know if Panglao is unique in that respect or simply a reflection of how little we know of other parts of the Indian-Pacific region," he said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...9/sc_afp/philippines_environment_040709131209
