俄勒冈海岸发现新浮游生物 海蛇尾幼体研究论文发表
据 phys.org 10月2日报道，海洋生物学家在俄勒冈州海岸外海发现了一种新的浮游生物——一种海蛇尾（basket star）的幼体，相关研究论文已正式发表。
海蛇尾是棘皮动物门的一类深海生物，成年个体以其分枝状的腕足闻名。此次发现的幼体阶段此前从未被科学描述，研究人员通过形态学与基因测序确认了其分类地位。
研究团队表示，这一发现丰富了人们对东北太平洋浮游生物多样性的认识，也表明深海生物的幼体扩散机制仍有许多未知。论文已发表于同行评议期刊。
俄勒冈州立大学等机构长期在东北太平洋开展海洋生物多样性调查。研究人员称，深海中可能还藏着大量未被描述的物种，每一次出海采样都可能带来惊喜。
New Planktonic Species Discovered Off Oregon Coast: Basket-Star Larvae Described in New Paper
Marine biologists have discovered a new planktonic organism off the Oregon coast — the larval stage of a basket star — described in a paper published October 2, phys.org reported.
Basket stars are echinoderms famed for their branching arms as adults. The newly found larval form had never been scientifically described; researchers confirmed its identity through morphology and DNA sequencing.
The team said the find enriches understanding of Northeast Pacific plankton diversity and shows larval dispersal in deep-sea species remains poorly understood. The paper appears in a peer-reviewed journal.
Oregon State University and other institutions have long surveyed marine biodiversity in the Northeast Pacific. Researchers say the deep sea likely still hides vast numbers of undescribed species, and every sampling cruise can bring surprises.
图片来源：海蛇尾，Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0，摄影：California Department of Fish
