Overview

• The West Australian lanternshark (Etmopterus westraliensis) is a small, bioluminescent species collected to about 610 meters in the Gascoyne Marine Park, with the largest specimen measuring roughly 407 millimeters.
• The porcelain crab (Porcellanella brevidentata) measures around 15 millimeters, is opalescent, and lives symbiotically on sea pens, with specimens found to about 122 meters along the Ningaloo coast.
• The shark and crab were formally described in September 2025 by separate teams in the Journal of Fish Biology and in Ecology and Evolution, respectively, with contributors including Will White and Andrew Hosie.
• Nearly 20 species from the 2022 RV Investigator voyage have now been described, following earlier announcements such as the painted hornshark and ridged-egg catshark in 2023 and a flapjack octopus in 2025.
• CSIRO estimates the 2022 collections could yield up to roughly 600 additional species awaiting description, and a new RV Investigator expedition to the Coral Sea Marine Park is being planned.