Marine biologist David Harasti first spotted an unusual red, fuzzy fish while scuba diving off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 2003. He photographed it before it disappeared, and researchers spent years searching for another one after that initial sighting.
In 2022, Harasti and ichthyologist Graham Short collected two specimens of the fish at the Great Barrier Reef. The species was formally described in the August issue of the Journal of Fish Biology and given the name Solenostomus snuffleupagus.
The species is a roughly 1.5-inch-long ghost pipefish, a group known for their skill at camouflage. Short has said ghost pipefish generally resemble floating tufts of algae. Solenostomus snuffleupagus can appear in various colorations, including oranges and purples, and has more vertebrae than other ghost pipefish species. Genetic analysis indicated it split off from other ghost pipefish around 18 million years ago.
Harasti said he wanted to name the species after the Sesame Street character Mr. Snuffleupagus because of its physical resemblance and its elusive nature, noting that the character matches the fish in both looks and spirit. He reached out to Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that produces Sesame Street, and received its blessing to use the name.
CT scans of one specimen revealed the remains of smaller fish in its stomach, marking what researchers say is the first documented instance of fish-eating in any member of the Solenostomus genus. Short has described the species as a predator, though researchers say it probably also feeds on small crustaceans such as mysid shrimp and zooplankton.
Based on observations posted to the citizen-science platform iNaturalist, researchers say the species likely lives throughout the southwest Pacific Ocean; confirmed sightings have been made near Fiji, New Caledonia and Tonga in addition to the Great Barrier Reef.
In their paper, Short and Harasti wrote that the discovery underscores the ecological importance of coral habitats as places that harbor cryptic creatures, adding that even a well-surveyed site like the Great Barrier Reef can still be home to undescribed species.
Marine biologist Milton Love, of the University of California, Santa Barbara's Marine Science Institute, said the fish's resemblance to Mr. Snuffleupagus demonstrates the power of natural selection. Rice University ichthyologist Kory Evans compared the discovery to finding Bigfoot, "except that it is very small," and said he would not be surprised if many more undescribed ghost pipefish species turn out to exist.