{"id":644237,"date":"2026-10-28T23:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T23:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/644237\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T23:00:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T23:00:12","slug":"unsung-heroes-of-the-sea-surface-in-gore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/644237\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Unsung heroes\u2019 of the sea surface in Gore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Crabs, shrimps, lobsters, barnacles, slaters and other crustaceans are the stars of a new mini exhibition at the M\u0101ruawai Centre presented by the Eastern Southland Gallery, NIWA and Te Papa.<\/p>\n

On display until\u00a0 December 13, \u201cMawhiti Tino Rawe, Clever Crustaceans\u201d is a playful exploration of the bizarre and diverse world of five marine crustaceans.<\/p>\n

They can change their shape, circle the globe, and maybe even cure cancer \u2014 crustaceans are the unsung heroes of the sea.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Mantis shrimp <\/p>\n

Niwa scientists Rachael Peart and Kareen Schnabel worked with Te Papa experts to deliver this mini exhibition that showcases the importance and special capabilities of the \u201cinsects of the sea\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cCrustaceans are arthropods, which means they have segmented bodies and exoskeletons just like insects, so I love describing them as the \u2018insects of the sea\u2019. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are captivating creatures. They have adapted to live in an incredible variety of habitats, from beaches and shallows, all the way down to the deepest ocean trenches,\u201d\u00a0 Dr Schnabel said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are telling the stories of some of our favourite critters.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Goose barnacle <\/p>\n

\u201cVisitors will learn about the \u2018shapeshifter\u2019 k\u014dura with its unexpected life stages as a long-distance open-ocean wanderer, the lightning speed with which the native mantis shrimp spears its lunch, the exceptional eyesight of the open ocean Phronima amphipod \u2014 which is even being used in techniques to detect cancer in humans \u2014 and the radical changes barnacles have undergone to get their kai,\u201d\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n

District Arts & Heritage curator\u00a0Jim Geddes said the gallery was delighted to host this Te Papa presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know it will be an especially engaging experience for the young people of our district, and it is pleasing to be able to have it based in the new temporary exhibition space at Gore\u2019s recently opened M\u0101ruawai Centre\u201d, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled to be able to highlight these unsung heroes of our ecosystem,\u201d Te Papa exhibition experience developer Dan Parke said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want visitors to touch, explore and discover these weird and wonderful crustaceans of Aotearoa New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"Puerulus of Red Rock Lobster <\/p>\n

Featuring real specimens, hands-on interactive displays and fascinating scientific discoveries, \u201cClever Crustaceans\u201d is\u00a0a fun, free and engaging learning experience for people of all ages. \u2014\u00a0 Allied Media\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Crabs, shrimps, lobsters, barnacles, slaters and other crustaceans are the stars of a new mini exhibition at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":644238,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[111,139,69,147,406],"class_list":["post-644237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=644237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=644237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=644237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}