New clione species found in Sea of Japan, 5th in the world

TOYAMA--A new species of clione, commonly known as an “angel in drift ice,” was discovered in the waters of Toyama Bay here, northwestern Japan, a Japanese university team announced Oct. 12.

There is a possibility that it is endemic to the Sea of Japan, according to the team led by Zhang Jing, 50, professor of chemical oceanography at the Graduate School of Science and Engineering for Research of the University of Toyama.

In August 2016, about 30 tiny cliones were caught in a net that was cast out to catch plankton in a field trip conducted in Toyama Bay. They measured between 0.5 millimeters to 5 mm.

Clione expert Tomoyasu Yamazaki, 34, the director of the Shellfish Museum of Rankoshi in Hokkaido, conducted DNA tests on the mysterious shell-less conch, and concluded it is a =read more