Acetabularia jalakanyakae

Acetabularia jalakanyakae is a new species of algae discovered in the Andaman Islands’ archipelago by Indian biologists in 2019. The discovery is significant as it has been nearly 40 years since a new species of algae has been found in the region.
The name ?Jalakanyaka? means mermaid in Sanskrit. It refers to the story of Little Mermaid by the Danish writer Hans Christian Anderson. The name highlights the species? unique feature of caps appearing like the umbrellas of mermaids. The plant consists of a single large cell with a nucleus. Its existence is threated by rising temperature and increasing acidification of oceans.