University of Göttingen researchers discover ten new marine species

An international research team, led by experts from the University of Göttingen, has identified ten new species of branched polychaetes. These unusual marine animals, which are closely related to leeches, possess a unique tree-like structure of branches extending from their heads.

The discovery was made using museomics, an interdisciplinary field that combines molecular biology, genomics, and bioinformatics to analyze genetic material from historical museum specimens alongside newly collected samples. By studying both anatomical features and genomic data, researchers determined that these polychaetes form a distinct evolutionary group consisting of two main lineages: one belonging to the genus Ramisyllis and another assigned to a completely new genus, Cladosyllis.

These organisms typically live in symbiosis within sponges. The research highlights the complexity and diversity of this group, which previously had only three identified species.