Wednesday October 11, 2023
PhysOrg —
At a time when marine life is disappearing from the world’s oceans, researchers are celebrating the discovery of a new species of coral reef fish in the southern waters of the Great Barrier Reef.
Named the Lady Elliot Shrimp Goby, the previously unknown fish was found as part of a University of the Sunshine Coast-led project that is mapping the changing biodiversity on and around Lady Elliot Island, a tiny coral cay at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.
The research team is now tasked with the complicated process of confirming that up to seven other unidentified marine creatures they found during their underwater surveys—including dwarf and pygmy gobies and damselfish—are also new to science.