Wilhelmshaven: Jenny Neuhaus discovers a new type of shell and wins price!

Wilhelmshaven: Jenny Neuhaus discovers a new type of shell and wins price!

Wilhelmshaven, Deutschland - An exciting discovery has mixed up marine research in Wilhelmshaven! Jenny Neuhaus, a talented doctoral student at the German Center for Marine Biodiversity Research, has discovered a completely unknown type of shell with an anemone. For this groundbreaking performance, she was awarded the prestigious Wilhelmshaven science award, which was recently launched.

The 30-year-old Neuhaus, who was born in Varel and studied in Bergen Meeresbiology, has made a name for herself with her discovery. Together with her co-author Dr. Katrin Linse from the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge described the new kind, Fissidentalium Aurae. This fascinating shell lives in symbiosis with an anemone and shows unique behavior: instead of digging into the sea floor, she wanders around and carries the anemone on her back. This discovery could revolutionize the understanding of communities in the deep sea!

The price for outstanding research

Neuhaus is the first award winner of the Wilhelmshaven science award to be awarded every two years. Other outstanding talents, including Sebastian Neun, a student of the Chemistry for Biology of the Sea, and Josef Gauk, a student of the new high school Wilhelmshaven, were also honored this year. Neuhaus ’Weg to doctoral thesis was anything but usual. During the Corona pandemic there was an opportunity to take part in a research trip with the German research ship "Sonne", which significantly influenced her career.

The discovery of the new mussel type is not only a personal triumph for Neuhaus, but also a significant contribution to marine research. The symbiosis between Fissidentalium Aurae and the Anemone could provide new knowledge about the adaptability of species in extreme habitats. The animal, which is now kept in the scientific collection of the Frankfurt Senckenberg Museum, could be the key to further discoveries in the deep sea!