Photos: Poison Crab, Glass Shrimp, More Found in Korea

Shrimp Shelter
Photograph courtesy NIBR
Tiny freckled shrimp hang out on a Korean pen shell—a type of saltwater clam—in an undated picture.
Called pen shell shrimps, the tiny crustaceans—previously known in Japan and Australia—were only recently observed in South Korea, scientists announced in early September.
Pen shell shrimps live in symbiotic, or dependent, relationships with clams, explained Kim Min-Ha, manager of the Korean indigenous-species project at the South Korean National Institute of Biological Resources.
"We think that the clam provides shelter for a shrimp," Min-Ha said in an email interview.
The institute's ongoing project to catalog animal and plant diversity on the Korean Peninsula (map) began in 2006 and will run until 2014. In the latest round of expeditions, scientists discovered 117 new species and documented 15 that had never before been found in South Korea.
(See pictures of a "glass" crustacean and other new species found recently on the Korean Peninsula.)
—Ker Than
Published September 27, 2010
Poison Crab
Photograph courtesy NIBR
Recorded in South Korea for the first time, the small red crab Liomera margaritata (pictured in a photo released in early September) has flesh that is "almost certainly poisonous" to predators, said Min-Ha said of the South Korean National Institute of Biological Resources.
Even so, "these crabs are only algal feeders. It doesn't use its poison," she added.
Previously known in Madagascar, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and Japan, the 0.7-inch-long (1.7-centimeter-long) crab was recently spotted in the waters near South Korea's Jeju-Do island (map).
"They are slow-moving crabs, usually hiding in rock crevices," Min-Ha said.
(Related photo: "New Eyeless Crustacean Found in Underwater Cave.")
Published September 27, 2010
Ghost-Like Shrimp
Photograph courtesy NIBR
With their transparent, ghost-like bodies and penchant for nighttime activity, Korean glass shrimp (pictured, a shrimp in a photo released in September) can be hard to spot, according to Min-Ha of the National Institute of Biological Resources.
That elusiveness may help explain why glass shrimp—though already documented in Hong Kong and Japan—were only recently found in South Korea, near Jeju-Do island.
"These transparent shrimps are often seen living on other animals, such as sea anemones, sea cucumbers, and hard and soft corals," Min-Ha said.
(Read how some glass shrimp are becoming reckless due to Prozac pollution.)
Published September 27, 2010
Colorful Plant Dweller
Photograph courtesy NIBR
The colorful new Rhamnus plant bug (pictured in a photo released in September) is 1 of 17 new insect species recently discovered by South Korea's National Institute of Biological Resources researchers.
Only about 0.1 inch (3 millimeters) long, the tiny bug was found near the Seoul National University arboretum in Gyeonggi Province (see map). The new species, found only in South Korea, lives on a plant called the Dahurian buckthorn.
The South Korean research team is documenting as many of their country's indigenous species as possible before an October Convention on Biological Diversity meeting in Nagoya, Japan.
"Discovering as many native species as possible is the most fundamental and imminent task ahead of us," biological-institute president Chong-chun Kim said in a statement.
Published September 27, 2010
Crab Discovery
Photograph courtesy NIBR
The crab species Pilodius miersi (pictured in a photo released in September) was recently discovered living in South Korea for the first time.
Found already in Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, Japan, and Australia, the 0.4-inch-long (1-centimeter-long) crab is one of 55 invertebrates that were previously unrecorded in South Korea.
(Related pictures: "A World of Crabs From One Tiny Island.")
During the past four years, more than 400 expert researchers have participated in the search for Korean wildlife, unearthing more than 3,500 new species.
Published September 27, 2010
Mountain Moss
Photograph courtesy NIBR
The moss species Calypogeia japonica (pictured in a photo released in September) was discovered growing in a rocky streambed in South Korea's Naejang mountain, near the city of Jeongeup.
The South Korean indigenous-species project has found 15 moss species that had never before been documented on the Korean Peninsula—including C. japonica, previously seen only in Japan.
(Also see "British Moss Breaks Century of Celibacy.")
Published September 27, 2010
Crustacean Invader
Photograph courtesy NIBR
The tiny crustacean Cymbasoma reticulatum was found near the port of Ganggu in the South Korean city of Yeongdeok.
The alien invader, which hails from the Mediterranean Sea, was inadvertently transported to the Korean Peninsula in the ballast water of cargo ships, according to Min-Ha of South Korea's National Institute of Biological Resources.
"The effects of these invasive species [on native wildlife] are not known yet," Min-Ha said.
(Related: "Chinese Crabs Rapidly Invading U.K., Scientists Warn.")
Published September 27, 2010