Collaboration between aquarium and researchers on invertebrates from the Kumano Sea

Abstract

Toba Aquarium regularly collects marine invertebrates from the Kumano Sea on the Pacific coast of central Japan. These animals are mainly used for exhibition in the aquarium as well as for taxonomic studies. When the taxonomic status of the animals is uncertain, we work with researchers to observe the specimens of those marine invertebrates. From 2006 to 2019, 382 species from 12 phyla have been so far recorded from the bathyal zone of Kumano Sea. Together with 26 researchers, we examined a total of 103 species collected during the surveys and nine out of them were described as new species. Using our rearing techniques, some interesting behaviors of the bathyal marine invertebrates were observed with live specimens in the aquarium.