BBC Climate & Science<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A deepwater fish new to science has been named after San, the warrior princess from Studio Ghibli’s landmark animated film Princess Mononoke, due to its striking facial markings.<\/p>\n The new species, Branchiostegus sanae, was identified by Chinese researchers after they noticed its unique cheek stripes.<\/p>\n San, a princess raised by wolves, was the war-painted protagonist of Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 animated film.<\/p>\n Princess Mononoke was a sensation in Japan and grossed over 19 billion yen (\u00a3100.4m) at the box office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The newly discovered fish is a deepwater tilefish, belonging to the family Branchiostegidae.<\/p>\n As their name suggests, deepwater tilefish are found at extreme depths, with some species being found as deep as 600m below the surface.<\/p>\n Researchers from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, the Chinese Academy of Science, Zhejiang University and Ocean University of China, used genetic analysis to confirm it as a new species.<\/p>\n Inspired by its resemblance to San, they chose “sanae” for the specific name as a tribute.<\/p>\n Lead author of the study Haochen Huang said: “In Princess Mononoke, San is a young woman raised by wolves after being abandoned by her human parents. She sees herself as a part of the forest and fights to protect it.<\/p>\n “The film delves into the complex relationship between humans and nature, promoting a message of harmonious coexistence between the two: something we hope to echo through this naming.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Deepwater tilefish are commonly found in seafood markets across east and southeast Asia.<\/p>\n However their diversity remains relatively low, with only 31 described species in the Branchiostegidae family and 19 in the Branchiostegus genus.<\/p>\n “Finding a new species in this group is a rare and fortunate event, especially one as distinctive as Branchiostegus sanae,” said Haochen Huang.<\/p>\n Only three new species in the genus Branchiostegus have been identified in the last 34 years.<\/p>\n Specimens have been preserved in marine biological collections to help scientists learn more about them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Huang](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/ebcb\/live\/aef2f9a0-e858-11ef-bd1b-d536627785f2.png.webp\")
Huang et al\/Hayao Miyazaki\/Studio Ghibli<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/bbcx\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"Huang](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/6854\/live\/8a0d4e80-e86a-11ef-bd49-371faa14fe11.png.webp\")
Huang et al.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n