Indian scientists discover 'mermaid' plant species

 

• The Indian archipelago of Andaman and Nicobar is home to a new species of plant.
• Biologists found a marine green algae during a trip to the island in 2019.
• Scientists spent nearly two years identifying this species for the first time, which is a laborious process.
• A new algae species was found on the islands for the first time in more than four decades, according to researchers.
• A species of Acetabularia has been named by scientists from the Central University of Punjab.
• JALAKANAYA is a goddess of the seas and mermaids in Sanskrit. Hans Christian Anderson's eponymous fairy tale, Little Mermaid, influenced the scientist's research.
• "The newly discovered species is so stunning. It has caps with intricate designs as if it were umbrellas of a mermaid," said Dr Felix Bast, who led the study.
• The main feature of the newly discovered species is that the plant is made up of one gigantic cell with a nucleus.
• The scientists spent more than 18 months sequencing the plant DNA and comparing its form with other plants in the lab.
• A paper describing this discovery has been accepted in the the journal Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences.
• The coral reefs of Andaman and Nicobar are among the last remaining healthy coral reefs worldwide. In addition to supporting a diversity of organisms, these reefs also support a wide variety of algae.
• Scientists say climate change is posing a tremendous stress as temperatures in seawater rise and the oceans become more acidic due to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions.
• According to Dr Bast, rising seawater temperatures decrease oxygen concentration in water, threatening species that depend on oxygen for survival like this one.