rbins:

@rbins biologists have discovered no less than 28 new amphipod species in
Antarctica. Amphipods are small marine and freshwater crustaceans and
the size of the new species (all marine) is ranging from two to eight
centimeter.

The new species, 27 of the genus
Epimeria, and one of the genus Alexandrella, are very diverse and
spectacular. Their body is often adorned with large spikes which makes
them look like little dragons. Some have stunning colours. It was
unexpected to find so many new species within a group that was supposed
to be already well known. ‘This shows that we still have so much to
learn about Antarctica and its biodiversity’, says our colleague Cédric
d’Udekem d’Acoz, first author of the monograph. ‘The continent may look like a biological desert on
land, but the surrounding sea is full of unknown fauna.’ Cédric d’Udekem
d’Acoz and his colleague Marie Verheye have now doubled the number of
known Epimeria species in Antarctica.

The two
biologists carried out their fieldwork aboard of the German icebreaker
and research vessel Polarstern. They catched amphipods with trawls and
dredges of different mesh size. Three species were named after a main
character in a theater play, novel or fairy tale: E. cyrano has a long
nose (pic 3), E. quasimodo has a hump (pic 2), and E. cinderella (pic 4)
is a small species without spectacular ornaments (a “humble” species).