Newly discovered mite species named after J Lo

Researchers have discovered new pontarachnid mite species, from Bajo de Sico, a mesophotic coral reef ecosystem in Mona Passage off Puerto Rico, which has been named after the famous singer Jennifer Lopez.

Vladimir Pesic, the lead author explained that the reason behind unusual name for the new species was that the Puerto Rican singer's songs and videos kept the team in a continuous good mood when writing the manuscript and watching World Cup Soccer 2014.

Pontarachnid mites represent widely distributed but still unstudied group of marine animals. Nothing is known about the life cycle of these animals.

The new mite species was collected from nearly 70 m depth, the greatest depth from which Pontarachnid mites have been found until now.

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs), like Bajo de Sico where the new species was found are light-dependent habitats dominated by macroalgae, sponges and scleractinian corals and are found on the insular and continental slopes of Caribbean islands between 30 and 100 m.

Even at the lower depth range (70-100 m), there was enough light for photosynthesis to take place, enhancing the growth of several scleractinian coral species and algae.

The study is published in the open access journal ZooKeys.