'Mysterious creature' in Vietnam's deep sea identified as a new species by scientists

A new species of creature in Vietnam has attracted the attention of scientists.

New discovery

Beneath the clear blue waters of Vietnam's coastline lurks a "strange" creature. The creature went largely unnoticed until scientists took a closer look at it. They eventually concluded it was a new species .

According to a study published June 16 in the Journal of Marine Science and Technology, researchers surveyed a number of marine species in Ha Long Bay during a series of diving trips.

As the scientists looked around a "penumbra " area, they spotted a large sponge . Walking around the shallow rocks and coral reefs, they collected eight of the same type of sponge.

New sponge species discovered in Vietnam.

After a period of careful observation, researchers discovered a new species of sponge and named it Cladocroce pansinii .

Cladocroce pansinii sponges are 'generally quite large' with a tubular shape, the study said. Living in bay areas protected from harsh weather, the sponges reach about 20 centimeters in size. Their shape is varied but most are 'light blue' in color.

The image shows several Cladocroce pansinii sponges. One is taller with thick tubes. Another is longer with thin branches, almost like a vine. The third sponge, slightly yellow, is shorter and wider.

Sponges thrive in a wide range of climates and oceans, from tropical to polar, and can exist at all latitudes. They are found from the intertidal zone down to the deepest parts of the ocean, including in dark sea caves. There are over 5,000 species of sponges in the world, with different shapes, colors, sizes, structures, and lifespans. Their lifespans can range from a few months to twenty years or more.

Among the sponges harvested and used by humans, the highest quality sponges are those from tropical seas, especially the Mediterranean, Aegean and Red Seas. However, only about 12 of the 5,000 species of sponges are used for human commercial needs.

The discovery of a new sponge species adds to Vietnam's biodiversity "dictionary" and helps scientists understand more about tropical marine life.

Significance of the discovery

The sponge Cladocroce pansinii was named after Maurizio Pansini to honor "his fundamental contribution to sponge taxonomy," researchers said .

The new species was identified as distinct based on its body shape and DNA.

After identifying the new species, the researchers realized that several other sponge specimens found in Hawaii and Thailand had previously been misidentified as Cladocroce pansinii sponges. The study said the misidentified sponges were 'light blue, light gray, and purple in color.'

The research team included scientists Marco Bertolino, Carlo Cerrano, Giorgio Bavestrello, Do Cong Thung, Laura Núñez-Pons, Francesca Rispo, Jana Efremova, Valerio Mazzella, Daisy Monica Makapedua and Barbara Calcinai.

During the surveys, researchers also discovered a new species of "shaggy" purple sponge in Indonesia, recorded the first sighting of another sponge species in Indonesia, and added some updated descriptions of several known sponge species.

'Our work enhances knowledge of species distributions along iconic Indo-Pacific hotspots and inspires research on marine biodiversity,' the researchers said .

Ha Long Bay is known to be located along the northern coast of Vietnam, about 160km east of Hanoi.