Sea pens are marine cnidarians that live in both shallow waters and deep seas around the world. They have tiny crystal-like internal structures called sclerites that vary in shape.
In our research, we found that these sclerites have variations related to the depth at which particular sea pens are living. A distinct evolutionary pattern was discovered. A common ancestor of sea pens, found at depths below 400 meters, has different plate and needle shaped sclerites to those sea pens at shallower depths.

Authors

Kushida Y, Imahara Y, Wee HB, Fernandez-Silva I, Fromont J, Gomez O, Wilson N, Kimura T, Tsuchida S, Fujiwara Y, Higashiji T, Nakano H, Kohtsuka H, Iguchi A, Reimer JD. (Bold letters：Staff members of Okinawa Churashima Foundation)
※This research was an international collaboration between research teams that included Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, the University of Rissho, and the University of the Ryukyus.

Title

Exploring the trends of adaptation and evolution of sclerites with regards to habitat depth in sea pens.

Journal

Peer J