Undescribed, Rediscovered and New Species in Zoos and Aquariums

splendens

Well-Known Member
In some cases species kept in captivity have been found to be a new species or split. In some facilities, species which are newly discovered and collected are put on display. This thread will try and go over these species. If you have any species which fit this thread please post them.
 
The "Red x comb jelly". This is a species of undescribed cydippid comb jelly found ranging through out the deep ocean. Like other cydippids it has branched sticky tentacles which collect food and can be retracted into pouches. This species is a bright red likely for camoflague and is less than an inch long. It is currently only kept by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.


Pic from @Northwest_FIsh_Keeping
 
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An undescribed Fire star sp. Hymenodiscus sp. The fire star waves its bright orange tentacles in the current to catch food passing by. It ranges from 2,100 to 7,200 ft. In captivity this species requires a low oxygen enviornment. The aquarium keeps their tank sealed and connects a thermos constantly filled with frozen food to the tank to feed the tank frequentally. This orange species is currently only kept at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

 
Two undescribed cichlids from Lake Chilingali, a Rhamphochromis sp. and a Lethrinops sp., are kept at Chester Zoo and a couple of other collections.
Point of Information: I posted a photo of Rhamphochromis species 'Chilingali' in the Tropiquaria section of our Gallery in 2021.
 
Magochi flathead (Platycephalus sp. 2)
One of two flathead species around Japan that still remains undescribed as of today. Until that point, this species is known as マゴチ or Magochi. The scientific name is given a 2, while the other undescribed species is given a 1. This other species is known as ヨシノゴチ or Yoshinogochi.
 
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One superpower is its ability to climb unusually well for a turtle, which allowed them to escape along a wall of an exhibit holding orangutans.

More details are in the EAZA news, on page 27: https://www.eaza.net/assets/Uploads/Zooquaria/ZQIssues/2020/ZQ107final-web-v1.pdf
 
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One superpower is its ability to climb unusually well for a turtle, which allowed them to escape along a wall of an exhibit holding orangutans.

More details are in the EAZA news, on page 27: https://www.eaza.net/assets/Uploads/Zooquaria/ZQIssues/2020/ZQ107final-web-v1.pdf
Nice to see that my picture of this special turtle is put to good use in this thread :)

Here's another interesting species that fits the topic:
the Otohime-kurage jellyfish (Octorhopalona saltatrix), a species described halfway 2022. This one was already on show at the Enoshima aquarium: Otohime-kurage jellyfish (Octorhopalona saltatrix) - ZooChat

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The Hagaruchi's butterfly fish (Roa haraguchiae) is a new species only described in 2020 This specimen has been kept since 2014. The tank was believed to house two until Mateo Juandel at the Academy realized one specimens first fin ray is white while the others were not. The fish without the white ray was fin clipped for DNA and described as the new species Roa rumsfeldi named after Donald Rumsfeld.

It is a deep water species and is the only one in captivity on earth.
 
An undescribed damselfish sp.(Chromis sp.)
This species is very rare in the fish trade. It was collected in about 300 ft down in Moorea along with species such as the peppermint and narcosis angelfish. In low light this species is a light blue, cyan color and when in bright light it shows a pale white color so in captivity it is mostly kept in low light conditions. It may be seen in the wild on a youtube video filmed in Moorea.

 
Two undescribed cichlids from Lake Chilingali, a Rhamphochromis sp. and a Lethrinops sp., are kept at Chester Zoo and a couple of other collections.
I have just posted photos of both species in the Gallery, and I added a link to a paper describing Lethrinops chilingali which was published as a preprint last month.
 
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