A team of marine biologists from the Central University of Punjab(CUP) has discovered a new marine algae species with an umbrella-like cap on the Islands of the Andaman and Nicobar. The new species has been named ‘Acetabularia jalakanyakae’, after the Sanskrit word ‘Jalakanyaka’ which means ‘Goddess of Oceans’ or ‘mermaid’.
- The new species has been named as inspiration from Hans Christian Anderson’s fictional character, The Little Mermaid Fairy Tale.
- The paper on the discovery will be published in the Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences, published by CSIR.
Discovery:
i.The new species was discovered by Dr Felix Bast, who led the study, in May 2019.
ii.Using the combined approach, including Scanning Electron Microscopy based morphological assessments combined with DNA sequence-based phylogenetic analyses the authors described the new species.
About Acetabularia jalakanyakae:
i.The whole plant is made up of a single gigantic cell with only one nucleus.
ii.Rhizoid, a structure formed towards the end of the plant cell contains its nucleus.
iii.The species is found attached to rock underneath the shallow tropical ocean.
Note:
The last time a new algae species was found on the island was in 1984.
Cephalanthera erecta var. oblanceolata: rare orchid species discovered in Uttarakhand:
Uttarakhand Forests Department has discovered a rare species of orchid named paper Cephalanthera erecta var. oblanceolata (Orchidaceae). This species has been found for the 1st time in India in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
The research paper on the new species has been published in Nelumbo, the six-monthly journal of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
The species was found in the humus-rich soil of Quercus Rhododendron Boreal forest.
Recent Related News:
A team of researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Mount Carmel College(MCC) – Bengaluru, and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar discovered Euphlyctis Kerala, a new species of genus Euphlyctis
(skittering frog) from the surroundings of the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary, Kothamangalam, Kerala.
- The research findings of the Euphlyctis Kerala are published in the International journal Zootaxa, published from New Zealand.
