Scientists have zeroed in on a toxic algal culprit behind South Australia’s marine crisis — and it’s a species never previously identified in local waters.

A little-known algae called Karenia cristata is now believed to be the potent toxin behind South Australia’s devastating algal bloom — a marine disaster that’s killed fish, sickened beachgoers, and left experts scrambling for answers.

WATCH ABOVE: Algae bloom backflip as toxic algae identified in SA’s bloom crisis.

The breakthrough findings, still under peer review, suggest K. cristata wasn’t just present — it dominated the bloom for most of its duration, leading to a direct effect on humans who came into contact with it.

It’s also the only one of five Karenia species detected in the current bloom known to produce the ‘neurotoxic b

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