A Northeastern marine scientist has discovered a new species of tiny mollusk that lives in an ancient, submerged cypress grove called the Alabama Undersea Forest.

Dan Distel, research professor at Northeastern’s Marine Science Center, says the bivalve written up in the journal Deep Sea Research represents a new genus and species of mussel and offers important clues about how marine life developed in some of the most fascinating environments in the ocean.

It is also the first species discovered as part of Ocean Census, a new global alliance that aims to discover 100,000 species in the next 10 years.

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Photo courtesy of Dan Distel