Glowing shark and hidden crab found deep off Australia

Meet the West Australian Lanternshark Etmopterus westraliensis

Dr Will White, an ichthyologist from the CSIRO Australian National Fish Collection, was involved in describing the new shark species.

"Lanternsharks are an amazing group of sharks, and this new species was found at depths to 610 meters during biodiversity surveys for Parks Australia in the Gascoyne Marine Park area off Western Australia," Dr White said.

The West Australian Lanternshark is relatively small, with the largest specimen measuring just 407 millimeters long. Its large eyes are adapted for the dark depths of the ocean, and its slim body is equipped with two small dorsal (topside) fins, each featuring a sharp spine. Among the shark’s most extraordinary features is its ability to glow.

"Lanternsharks are bioluminescent, with light produced by photophores located on their belly and flanks, which is where their common name comes from," Dr White said.

The species name E. westraliensis honors Western Australia, the region where it was discovered. It is the third shark species identified from specimens collected during the same 2022 voyage, following the Painted Hornshark and Ridged-egg Catshark, both revealed in 2023.

Meet the new porcelain crab Porcellanella brevidentata

Dr. Andrew Hosie, Curator of Aquatic Zoology at the Western Australian Museum, participated in describing this newly identified crab species.

"The new species of porcelain crab lives a symbiotic life with sea pens, which are a group of soft corals related to sea fans, where they will hide among the 'leaves' of the host," Dr Hosie said.

The crab is small, being around 15 millimeters in length, and is opalescent white-yellow in color. This makes it well-adapted to hide within the white leaves of its sea pen host. The new crab was found during surveys along the Ningaloo coast at depths to 122 meters.

"Porcelain crabs are known as filter feeders, feeding on plankton by using modified mouthparts with long hairs to sweep the water for small pieces of food such as plankton, rather than the typical crab method of grabbing and pinching food with their claws," Dr Hosie said.

Additional specimens used to identify and describe the new species of porcelain crab were collected during another CSIRO-led RV Investigator voyage in 2017.

A bounty of new life

Nearly 20 new species have now been described with the help of specimens collected on the 2022 voyage, including the Carnarvon Flapjack Octopus announced earlier in 2025. Incredibly, researchers estimate that there are potentially up to 600 new species still waiting to be described from the voyage.

The deep-sea is still largely unexplored and biodiversity surveys of these habitats are vital to increase our understanding of the incredible marine life that dwells in the depths of our oceans.

Researchers expect to discover more species new to science during an upcoming CSIRO-led voyage on RV Investigator to survey the deep-sea biodiversity of the Coral Sea Marine Park for Parks Australia. The voyage brings together many of the same researchers from the 2022 voyage, along with new collaborators and partners, to again turn wonder into discovery.

RV Investigator is part of the Marine National Facility, national collaborative research infrastructure funded by the Australian Government and operated by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, on behalf of the nation.

Key points

• Two species new to science have been discovered in the deep-sea off Western Australia: the West Australian Lanternshark and a porcelain crab.
• Specimens to help describe the new species were collected during a CSIRO-led voyage on research vessel (RV) Investigator in 2022.
• Scientists involved in finding these two new species are about to depart on another biodiversity discovery voyage to the Coral Sea.