On 1 July 2025, NIWA merged with GNS Science to become Earth Sciences New Zealand.

Epsilonema dentatum rugatum

Daniel Leduc, NIWA
Of the species that were isolated from the sample this is the only one which was not new to science: Epsilonema dentatum rugatum Lorenzen, 1973. It was originally described from Breakers Bay. The skin of this one consists of many overlapping, rigid rings, and it also possesses modified hairs (adhesion tubes) which have a similar function to the ones in Dracograllus. It is quite small (about a third of a millimetre in length) and requires some patience to find amongst all the sand and debris!