Amphipod species with panda-like coloring discovered in Wakayama

WAKAYAMA –

Two new amphipod species with black-and-white coloring patterns like a giant panda have been found in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture.

Some in the prefecture hope that the novel creatures will be a new local tourism resource after four giant pandas raised at Adventure World, a leisure facility in Shirahama, were returned to China last year.

One of the black-and-white amphipods, which resembles a shrimp and measures 5 to 8 millimeters in length, was found in a coastal area of Shirahama.