It was recently learned that Researcher Yin Jianqiang and his team from the Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Biological Resources and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, discovered and named a new species of planktonic ostracod in the deep waters of the Nansha Trough, named *Bathyconchoecia liui* (Figure 1), in honor of Liu Ruiyu, a renowned Chinese marine biologist and crustacean expert. This finding was published in the crustacean journal *Crustaceana* and was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
This species belongs to the phylum Arthropoda, subphylum Crustacea, class Ostracoda, order Phyllophorales, family Phyllophoridae, and subfamily Phyllophorinae. It lives in the dark environment of the deep sea at depths of 1500-2600 meters, feeding on settled organic detritus, and is a detritivorous animal. It possesses typical characteristics of planktonic ostracods, such as glands on its shell that secrete luminescent substances, enabling it to fluoresce.
The Nansha Islands area features a broad continental shelf, numerous reefs and shoals, and deep basins and valleys, presenting a complex and diverse habitat for marine life. In terms of marine biogeography, this area is one of the richest in tropical marine biodiversity globally.
Since 1984, the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology has conducted long-term and continuous scientific expeditions to the Nansha Islands and their adjacent sea areas. With the advancement and development of deep-sea biological sampling technology and methods, more new species of zooplankton will be discovered.
Morphological diagram of the new species *Bathyconchoecia liuin* sp.
