Researcher David Harasti was certain of the name for the small orange creature he discovered during a diving expedition in Papua New Guinea in 2003.
However, it took another twenty years for Harasti and his colleague Graham Short to rediscover the elusive fish, examine it, and formally classify it as a new species.
Introducing Solenostomus snuffleupagus, inspired by the popular Sesame Street character, Mr. Snuffleupagus.
“We call it Snuffy for short,” Short, an expert in fish studies at the California Academy of Sciences and the Australian Museum, shared with As It Happens host Nil Kӧksal. “The resemblance was striking.”
Short and Harasti have authored a new article, published in the Fish Biology journal, detailing S. snuffleupagus as a fresh species of ghost pipefish residing near coral reefs, camouflaging as red algae.
‘The remarkable impact of natural selection’
The fish shares several characteristics with its namesake — notably its orange-brown coloration, long filaments resembling shaggy hair, and elephant-like snout.
Milton Love, a marine biologist at the University of California’s Marine Science Institute in Santa Barbara, California, notes that the fish’s puppet-like appearance showcases “the remarkable impact of natural selection.”
“Evidently, all the endearing morphological features serve a purpose for the animal,” Love, not involved in the study, mentioned in an email.
“Alternatively, and here’s another theory, Gaia created this fish after indulging in a few too many of those rum drinks with miniature umbrellas.”
However, the resemblance to Snuffleupagus goes beyond appearance.
Similar to Mr. Snuffleupagus, the fish is extremely elusive, with early sightings by Harasti and Short in 2003 remaining unverified until 2021.
Fortune smiled upon them in 2021 when fellow scuba divers began spotting these creatures on the Great Barrier Reef and contacted the scientists. Short and Harasti flew to Australia, where they finally encountered the fish on their second dive.
“It’s an understatement to say we were ecstatic underwater,” Short exclaimed. “We celebrated with high-fives, hugs, and overwhelming excitement.”
A tiny carnivore
In order to describe the fish and confirm its status as an undocumented species, the scientists examined CT scans of specimens initially collected in 1993 from the far north of Queensland, Australia, in the Torres Strait.
Short mentioned that these specimens were amassed alongside numerous other fish specimens and stored until his team revisited them. Even back then, ichthyologist Helen Larson, part
