Biologists working in the Philippines have discovered thousands of new species of sea snails, crabs and other crustaceans and mollusks. The Panglao Marine Biodiversity Project made their discovery from 2004 to 2005 in the waters near Panglao island in Bohol province, about 620 kilometers southeast of Manila.
The French-led expedition presented over 100 holotypes—representative specimens of the species—to the Philippine National Museum on Feb. 5. The study on tropical deep-sea invertebrates comprised about 80 marine biologists, technicians, students and volunteers from 19 countries operating under the aegis of the University of San Carlos and the French National Museum of Natural History.
“Numerous species were observed and photographed alive, many for the first time, and it is estimated that between 150 and 250 of the crustaceans and 1,500 to 2,500 of the mollusks are new species,” Philippe Bouchet, a senior professor at the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris, said in a statement. “However, it requires a thorough comparison with all previously named species to ascertain if a novel species is indeed new to science. This is a slow and tedious process.”
The researchers examined approximately 15,000 hectares of Bohol’s waters and uncovered over 1,200 species of decapod crustaceans, including crayfish, crabs, lobsters and shrimps, along with 6,000 mollusk species. Several of the species are rare or very rare and had never been found previously in the Philippines.
“Panglao Island was picked as the site for the study because of the diversity of its marine habitats and convenient logistical facilities,” Dr. Bouchet said. “We expect that our results will feed new concepts into conservation biology and the protection of coral reefs which, together with rainforests, are the biologically richest ecosystems on Earth.” He added the samples would allow for a more comprehensive marine-biodiversity map of the Bohol sea.
Although the field work has been completed, the specimens are expected to be studied by taxonomists for several years.
“If future scientists need to check the identity of a species (perhaps using new characters or new technologies), or suspect that the known species is mixed or have any doubts, etc., the holotype is the final determinant,” the researchers said in a statement.
“As such, holotypes are required to be kept in museums or reputable institutions where they must be available to scientists worldwide,” the statement added.
The P5.4-million expedition, financed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National University of Singapore and the Total Corporate Foundation, is part of a larger study into biodiversity at three sites rich in wildlife. The two other sites are the island of Santo in the South Pacific and the rainforests and coral reefs of Panama.
The survey also confirmed that Panglao’s biodiversity exceeds both Japan and the Mediterranean; Japan’s waters contain 1,600 decapod species while the Mediterranean is home to 340 species of decapods and 2,024 mollusk species.
Along with Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, Panglao forms the Pacific Ocean’s “Golden Triangle” in which the greatest number of species of fish, corals, sponges and other marine invertebrates are thought to be found.
