Meet the sea muppets!
Scientists have named a tiny fish that looks like a seahorse wearing a helmet. Nobody has ever seen one alive!
Animals of the week
A funny name
It is called the helmethead sea muppet, because of the round “helmet” on top of its head. It is only as long as your thumb.
A mystery fish
Sea muppets live on deep reefs off the south of Australia, deeper than divers usually swim. Only a few have ever been found, all caught by accident in fishing nets.
Not a seahorse!
Scientists looked inside its body with special X-ray scans. Its bones are different from a seahorse’s. So it is a cousin, not a seahorse at all!
A spider that lives by the sea
On tiny islands near Mauritius, scientists found a new kind of trapdoor spider. It lives in little tubes in the rock at the edge of the sea. Twice a day, the tide comes in and covers its home with water!
It closes its front door with silk, sand and seaweed, so the door looks just like the rock.
Big wordspecies
One kind of animal or plant. A new species is a kind nobody has named before.
One kind of animal or plant. A new species is a kind nobody has named before.
Did you know?Scientists name thousands of new species every year. Many are tiny, like insects and spiders!
Nibbles asksIf you found a new animal, what would you name it?