Since the 19th century, taxonomists have had difficulty separating the supposed species of Aurelia, mainly due to their morphological similarity. The CEBIMar is a well-respected international research institute for marine biology, and many of the authors of the study have depended heavily on these facilities for both their education and research. This new species, Aurelia cebimarensis, was named after Centro de Biologia Marinha (CEBIMar) of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, which is exactly where the type specimen was collected. They are widely known, but rather rare in Brazilian coastal waters. They are also among the most studied jellyfish, often appearing in the international media because they can form large population aggregates (known as blooms) which, in the case of moon jellyfish, occur mainly in colder regions. They are cultivated in aquaria around the world and appear as a classic example of jellyfish in textbooks. Known as moon jellyfish, species of the genus Aurelia are among the most popular jellyfish. Īurelia cebimarensis Lawley, Gamero-Mora, Maronna, Chiaverano, Stampar, Hopcroft, Collins & Morandini, 2021 Four new species of Heteromysis (Crustacea: Mysida) from public aquaria in Hawaii, Florida, and Western to Central Europe. Samples from the Horniman Aquarium were sent for study and the Hidden Horniman Mysid took its final step towards discovery. The discovery was made after the museum answered researcher Abed-Navandi’s request for mysid crustaceans from around the world. A feature which is easily visible (see photo) and will help in identification by both aquarists and in finding the species in its natural habitat. They also have a peculiar perpendicular orientation of only the second pleopod. They zig-zag backwards and forwards in a figure of eight pattern, and this is one of their defining characteristics. “I’ve been here 12 years and they’ve been here all that time.”Īpparently, the new species has a characteristic swimming style. “We’ve used them as a food source because they breed so prolifically,” said aquarium curator Dr Jamie Craggs, who had no idea they were an undiscovered species. The species has not yet been found in nature (although some of the data suggests it is likely to originate in the Caribbean), but it is well-established in every tank of the aquarium in the museum, where they like to “zip around” and “zig-zag” in a figure of eight. The species is thought to have “hitchhiked” to the museum on an ocean rock many years ago. Karl Wittmann and Dr Daniel Abed-Navandi, both marine biologists in Vienna. The mysid shrimp is now named Heteromysis hornimani, in honour of its place of discovery, by Prof. The Horniman Aquarium showcases marine environments from around the world, from British ponds to Fijian coral reefs. Smaller than a child’s fingernail, this new species of marine mysid crustacean was discovered in a humble tank at the Horniman Museum and Gardens, in Forest Hill, south London, where it has spent at least the past 12 years hiding in plain sight and “breeding like mad”. Heteromysis (Olivemysis) hornimani Wittmann & Abed-Navandi, 2021įor more than a decade, nobody at the museum had any idea that the unusually fast-moving, zig-zagging crustaceans that they were feeding to the fish in their aquarium was actually a species unknown to science.

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