Researchers have discovered a new 20-legged “feather star” species in Antarctica, which looks like a strawberry.
Three researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography based out of the University of California, discovered the feather-starred species in the Southern Ocean, according to a report from the Invertebrate Systematics. The species, Promachocrinus fragarius, was named after the Latin word for Strawberries due to the resemblance.
“The Southern Ocean has unique environmental conditions that may drive biodiversity,” the report said, according to USA Today.
Facehugger-esque feather stars just grew from one species to eight.https://t.co/OoXGbAiKt9
— IFLScience (@IFLScience) August 14, 2023
The researchers, Emily McLaughlin, Nerida Wilson and Greg Rouse, reportedly discovered four new species while conducting missions from 2008 to 2017, the report noted. The 20-legged feather star was among the four new species discovered. (RELATED: Scientists Discover Shark Species With Humanlike Teeth)
Feather stars generally fall under the Promachocrinus family tree and were once “considered to represent a single, circum-Antarctic species,” called the Promachocrinus kerguelensis, according to the report.
“Although most species can be distinguished morphologically, several cannot be reliably separated without DNA data,” the report says. “All sequenced species are essentially circum-Antarctic, with the notable exception of P. wattsorum sp. nov.”
Through the use of DNA analysis, researchers were able to see how the species was able to morph, according to the report.