Scientists have discovered a never-before-seen creature called a ’roundworm’ in the great Salt Lake.
The newly found worm species has been given a name ‘Diplolaimelloides woaabi.’
The research team, led by University of Utah biology professor Michael Werner, worked with the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation.Wo’aabi,’ a native word meaning ‘worm’.
According to researchers, the newly found worm species only exists in Salt Lake, marking them as the third known animal group that can survive the lake’s extreme salinity.
The other species are brine shrimp and brine flies, which are important food sources for millions of migratory birds that stop at the lake each year.
Research shows that the origins and how the species got there remain a mystery, with theories ranging from ancient oceans to birds transporting the species across continents.
A newly discovered microscopic worm living in the Great Salt Lake has been identified as a never-before-seen species, named in honor of its indigenous heritage.
Scientists studying the Great Salt Lake have identified the species as completely new to science, and there are indications that there may be more.
The discovery could help scientists monitor the health of the lake as conditions change rapidly.
“It is difficult to distinguish distinguishing features, but genetically we can see that at least two populations exist,” the researchers said.
Researchers at the University of Utah recently published a paper describing and formally naming the small roundworm in a way that honors the indigenous people whose ancestral lands include the lake.
Why nematodes are important?
The nematodes are potentially an important discovery for the lake in understanding its ecosystem.
These nematodes are among the most common animals on earth. They can be found in almost every environment imaginable, including Arctic ice, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and common backyard soil.
Most are smaller than a millimeter, so they often go unnoticed.
Despite their size, nematodes are extremely numerous. Scientists have identified more than 250,000 species to date, making them the most numerous animal phylum in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
Roughly 80% of animal life on land bottoms and about 90% of animals living on the ocean floor are nematodes.
Field expeditions led by Julie Jung revealed nematodes living in the lake’s ‘mbioticites’: hardened, mound-like structures formed by microbial communities on the lake bottom.
The research appears in the November issue of the Journal of Nematology under the title: “Diplolaimelloides woaabi: A new species of free-living nematodes from the Great Salt Lake, Utah.”
