Marine Invertebrates

Latest news

A new database describing marine species has been released to assist conservation.
Researchers have discovered 26 species of roundworms that are completely new to science.
A fossilised sponge from New Zealand has been named as one of the top 10 new marine species of 2022.
Researchers have developed New Zealand’s most comprehensive online atlas, providing an overview of nearly 600 marine species, to guide management and conservation of the country’s unique seafloor communities.

Latest videos

Powering diversity in the Ross Sea

Fisheries scientist Dr Pablo Escobar-Flores delves into Antarctic mesopelagic science with a look at the small animals and organisms that help power the amazing diversity of life in the Ross Sea.

Critter of the deep: Gorgon's head

The Gorgon’s Head - Gorgonocephalus

When you think brittle star, you probably imagine a small disc from which five slender simple arms radiate. Compare that to the amazing basket stars, which are brittle stars in the order Euryalida. Their five arms are divided many times resulting in as many as 5000 arm tips. They are also the largest brittle stars measuring up to 70 cm across. Basket stars generally live in the deep sea where they perch on top of rocky outcrops and expand their basket-shaped arms into the current to filter out the goodies it brings. When disturbed the arms curl up and the appearance changes from a bush to tight ball.

The largest group of basket stars are the Gorgon’s heads, Gorgonocephalus brittle stars which refers to the Greek "Gorgos" (Gorgon’s) and "-cephalus" (head) named for fearsome monsters such as Medusa, with snakes for hair whose gaze could turn people to stone.

A first glimpse of life forms from the deep sea...

Basket stars are intricately linked to the discovery of life in the deep oceans. In the mid-1800s, it was still believed that there was no life below around 600m depth (it was called the ‘azoic zone’). Scientists at that time had failed to register that British explorer Sir John Ross in 1818 had already (accidentally) hauled up a basket star (Gorgonocephalus caputmedusae) on a sounding line from more than 1600m depth while sounding the bottom of Baffin Bay in his attempt to find the North West passage.

This and a few other reports prompted the historic round-the-world trip of the HMS Challenger from 1872 to 1876 (which of course also visited New Zealand).

The authors Thurber et al. in a recent paper mention this species as the first species ever sampled from the deep sea while discussing the ecosystem function and services provided by the deep sea.

For more info, visit: https://niwa.co.nz/news-and-publications/blogs/Critteroftheweek/critter-...

Tour of the NIWA Invertebrate Collection with Sadie Mills

The NIWA Invertebrate Collection (NIC) holds specimens from almost all invertebrate phyla. This is a result of about half a century of marine taxonomic and biodiversity research in the New Zealand region, the South West Pacific and the Ross Sea, Antarctica. 

To learn more about it, visit https://niwa.co.nz/our-services/online-services/nic

Critter of the deep - episode 2: Antarctic Octopus

This is a really cute little octopus (Pareledone genus) from cold Antarctic waters, and we have records of them living from 62-2804 m deep.

Octopods have three hearts and contractile veins that pump hemolymph (like blood), which is highly enriched with the blue oxygen transport protein hemocyanin (so they are blue-blooded).

One Pareledone species, P. charcoti, has the highest concentration of hemocyanin in its blood – at least 40 percent more compared to the other species, and ranks amongst the highest levels reported for any octopod.

There are five described species in the genus Pareledone and several undescribed species in this group. It is the most commonly found octopus genus in Antarctica.

Recording underwater biodiversity after earthquakes

NIWA’s marine ecologist Dr Dave Bowden talks about the catastrophic changes to the seafloor in the Kaikoura Canyon following the November 2016 earthquake.

Squat lobsters are known for their lengthy eyelashes and come in many different sizes from the mighty Munidopsis aries (90mm carapace length) to some species which have bodies only a few millimetres long.
A voyage to the Kermadec Islands has resulted in the discovery of many species either new to science or not previously found in the area.
This year is the 2400th anniversary of the birth of Aristotle, a philosopher and scientist (384 BCE), who among other many great achievements was the first person to describe the structure, ecology, and diversity of sea urchins – way back in the 4th century BC.
A new fully illustrated electronic identification guide, Bountiful Bryozoans, has just been released to help people identify this group of marine creatures in the wild.
Exploring the deepsea

Despite many centuries of maritime exploration, only a fraction of our planet's seafloor has been observed. NIWA Deepsea Scientist Di Tracey tells us what it feels like to probe deep beneath the waves to see what's living on the ocean floor.

An interactive guide to the bryozoans of New Zealand
An interactive guide to the starfish of the Ross Sea
We have reached the end of our sampling program up in the Kermadecs and we’re on our way home

We’ve been sampling at Macauley Island for a couple of days now, but before we left Raoul and headed south, we deployed a surface plankton net at dawn.

Using a 2x1m rectangle net we collected all sorts of animals that live at the surface of the ocean, providing food sources for seabirds, fishes and other animals.

Over the last few days the “dive team” have been recording corals, fishes, urchins and other invertebrates from the shallow waters (0-30m) surrounding Raoul Island to complement the biodiversity records from the deeper ocean collected by the other scientists onboard.
The prickly king crab, Paralomis zealandica, is a member of the family Lithodidae, a mainly deepwater crustacean group that is probably better known by many people for its tasty leg meat.
One of the ocean’s most elusive critters is about to meet its match as NIWA scientists voyage south hoping to film them in action – and bring a few samples home.
Scientists are beginning a voyage to the middle of the marine food web today to find out more about one of the most complex networks on the planet.
Sea cucumbers are usually, well cucumber-shaped, however there are exceptions.
Another colossal squid is under examination in Wellington, but this one could fit in the palm of your hand.
Now back on dry land, Voyage Leader Richard O'Driscoll reflects on the final days of RV Tangaroa's 2015 Antarctica expedition.
This week’s critter is the colonial ascidian, or more commonly known as seasquirt, Leptoclinides marmoreus Brewin, 1956.
It has been another amazing week here on the Tangaroa. On Saturday we saw Antarctica which was an absolutely breath-taking experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life!
The six-week New Zealand-Antarctic Ecosystem Voyage saw RV Tangaroa travel through the Southern Ocean to the Ross Sea to conduct a range of scientific fieldwork. The voyage was a collaboration between Antarctica New Zealand, NIWA and the Australian Antarctic Division.
In this week’s blog we explore Ecionemia alata (Dendy, 1924) commonly known as the purple cup or pillow sponge.
This week’s critter, found from the northern part of New Zealand to southern Australia, is the brightly coloured and aptly named clown nudibranch, Ceratosoma amoenum.
Hesionids are lively compact small worms, often richly coloured and with a good set of eyes (2 pairs, with lenses).
NIWA scientists surveying shallow water coastal habitats off the east coast of Northland have found a rich diversity of macroalgal meadows, shellfish beds, sponges, and rare fish species.
With the Kermadec Trench Expedition coming to a close , we thought we would stay on the theme of trenches for a little longer and present to you Scopelocheirus schellenbergi.

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All staff working on this subject

Coastal Marine Ecologist
Principal Scientist - Marine Ecology
Strategy Manager - Coasts & Estuaries
Principal Scientist - Marine Ecology
Senior Regional Manager - Wellington
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Marine Invertebrate Systematist
Principal Scientist - Marine Ecology
Regional Manager - Wellington
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Marine Biosecurity Scientist
Fisheries Scientist
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Marine Biology Technician
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Marine Ecology Technician
Marine Ecology Technician
Principal Technician - Marine Biology
Marine Biologist
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