Overview
- The formal name and description were published in the Biodiversity Data Journal as part of the Ocean Species Discoveries paper led by SOSA authors.
- Ze Frank’s True Facts audience submitted more than 8,000 name ideas in about a week, with 'populi' independently proposed by 11 contributors.
- The species was found in 2024 on sunken wood at about 5,500 meters in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench near Japan, within the rare genus Ferreiraella.
- The chiton bears eight overlapping plates and an iron-clad radula, and it hosts tiny worms near its tail that feed on its waste.
- SOSA’s Julia Sigwart said the two-year turnaround aims to support marine biodiversity protection given emerging risks such as deep-sea mining.