Photos: Strange new sea creatures discovered on Ocean Census expeditions
vox.com • • world
Key Points:
- The Ocean Census project announced the discovery of 1,121 previously unknown marine species since April last year, marking a significant increase in newly identified ocean life, including fish, rays, sponges, and soft corals.
- Many of these discoveries were made in remote and deep-sea regions using advanced submersibles, revealing both small creatures like ribbon worms and larger animals such as ghost sharks and catsharks.
- Despite the announcement, experts caution that many of these species have not yet undergone formal taxonomic description, a process that can take around 13 years and is necessary to confirm a species as truly new to science and enable conservation efforts.
- The Ocean Census focuses on accelerating species discovery, but formal description and naming remain critical steps to validate findings and facilitate scientific study and legal protection.
- These discoveries highlight the vast unknown biodiversity in the ocean, emphasizing how much remains to be explored and understood about life on Earth.