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A group of scientists from the Autonomous University of Baja California Sur (UABCS) have identified a new genus and species of sea anemone. The research which led to the discovery was conducted by Polet Yamaly Barragán Marín , who incorporated to the masters degree program in marine and coastal sciences (CIMACO) at UABCS , with the support of scientists from the Investigation Program for the Preservation of Reef Fauna , at the same institution.
The species was named Tenactis riosmenai , in honor of the Mexican marine botanist Rafael Riosmena Rodríguez (1966-2016) .
Barragán Marín traveled through the marine area of San Juan de la Costa within the La Paz bay . The group of experts snorkeled rocky places, rummaging through cracks and nooks, lifting every rock in search of sea anemones. Unlike specimens found in the Indo-Pacific ocean and the Caribbean , anemones found in the Gulf of California are smaller in size.
The collection of the new sea anemone represented a complex process since the organism contracts its body as a defense mechanism, according to the information agency of Mexico’s National Science and Technology Council (CONACYT) .
Once the sea anemone was separated from the substratum of the sea bed, it was applied with menthol crystals to avoid stress during the transition.
Specialists have estimated that there are more than six thousand species of sea anemones . Normally, anemones have six tentacles or multiples of six, but the Tenactis riosmenai had 20, which is why scientists have deemed it to be both a new species and genus.
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