The new species of mussel is the first discovery made by the alliance of institutions known as the Ocean Census Mission
By DIVE Staff
The Ocean Census project – a multi-institutional network of scientific research groups – has announced the discovery of its first new species, a tiny mussel located in the sunken remains of an ancient forest off the coast of Alabama.
The discovery was made by the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University, based in Massachusetts, USA. The mussel, named Vadumodiolus teredinocola, represents both a new species and a previously undescribed genus of bathymodiolin mussel.
The new species, just a few millimetres in length, was discovered at a depth of 18 metres in the Alabama Undersea Forest, a site believed to have been submerged by rising seas between 72,000-45,000 years ago, but which still features many well-preserved tree stumps and fallen limbs.
Bathymodiolinae is a genus of mussels that harbour ‘chemoautotrophic‘ symbiotic bacteria – organisms which obtain energy through the oxidation of chemicals within their environment, while also synthesising other organic compounds from carbon dioxide.
Bathymodiolin mussels have previously been known to live only in cold, deep-sea environments between 100 to 4,000 metres in depth, including the giant mussels that feed on hydrogen sulphide and methane released by deep-sea hydrothermal vents.Vadumodiolus teredinocola is, therefore, an especially significant find, as it represents the first shallow-water member of its group.
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The new species was found living within the remains of abandoned burrows created by shipworms. The name of the new species, teredinicola, is derived from the Latin teredo, meaning ‘shipworm’, and incola, meaning ‘dweller’.
‘This species demonstrates that this group of mussels is found not only in deep-sea environments, such as on wood or in chemosynthetic ecosystems like hydrothermal vents and seeps, but also in shallow waters,’ said Ocean Census Science Director, Alex Rogers. ‘It fills in an important gap in our understanding of the evolution of these animals, which is particularly special.’
As the first species named and described under the Ocean Census – an initiative co-founded by the Nippon Foundation and Nekton – the discovery represents the first in the project’s global mission to uncover 100,000 new ocean species over the next decade, with the twin aims of bridging marine life knowledge gaps while enhancing global ocean exploration capabilities.
As a founding partner of the Ocean Census network, the Ocean Genome Legacy Center brings with it more than two decades of marine genomics expertise, which it will use to focus on preserving marine DNA and advising on the development of an open-access ‘cyberbiodiversity’ system of biological samples and data for use by scientists, policymakers, and the public.
‘In protecting our planet, lack of knowledge is the greatest challenge — we cannot protect what we do not know and understand,’ said Prof Dan Distel, Director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center and lead author of the study detailing the newly described mussel. ‘This new species discovery, and the many to follow, are critical pieces of an extraordinary puzzle.
‘By exploring the incredible diversity of life in the sea and the rich information hidden in its genomes,’ added Prof Distel, we learn the best ways to safeguard our planet’s delicate ecosystems.’
For more information about the Ocean Census and its new discover, visit: oceancensus.org/Science
The new species of mussel is detailed in a paper, ‘Wooden steps to shallow depths: A new bathymodiolin mussel, Vadumodiolus teredinicola, inhabits shipworm burrows in an ancient submarine forest’ by Daniel L Distal et al, published in the journal Deep Sea Research Part 1
