The Ocean Census project has identified 866 new marine species, many from the deep seas, less than two years since its launch.
The project announced its findings on March 10, marking the first phase of its goal to document 100,000 new species in the Earth’s oceans.
“The ocean covers 71% of our planet, yet only around 10% of marine life has been discovered, leaving an estimated 1-2 million species undocumented,” Mitsuyuki Unno, executive director of
The Nippon Foundation, which sponsors the Ocean Census initiative along with U.K.-based nonprofit Nekton, said in a statement. The Nippon Foundation is also involved with deep-sea mining research and offshore oil and gas.
Among the newly identified species is a pygmy pipehorse, a 4-centimeter (1.6-inch) master of camouflage found in Sodwana Bay, off the coast of South Africa in the Indian Ocean. It is the first record of the Cylix genus ever found in Africa. Until now, it was thought to be exclusive to New Zealand’s cooler waters.
In Norway’s Jøtul Vent Field, a 35-day expedition into the depths of the Arctic Ocean revealed a new species of deep-sea limpet (Cocculina genus) living more than 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) deep, where pressure can be 300 times greater than at the surface. Limpets live in one of the most extreme environments on Earth, where highly acidic waters dissolve their shells, requiring the snail to continuously rebuild new protective layers.
Off the coast of Mozambique and Tanzania, scientists identified a new species of guitar shark, which, despite its name, is a type of critically endangered ray. Many more novel species, including sea butterfly, mud dragon, bamboo coral, water bear and brittle stars, have now been registered with the Ocean Census’ biodiversity data platform.
Researchers used DNA sequencing, high-resolution imaging and machine learning to speed up species identification in specialized workshops.
“There has never been a better time to be a marine biologist,” Oliver Steeds, Ocean Census’ director, told Mongabay by phone. “With the technologies we have now, we can learn more about the ocean in the next 10 years than we have in the last 10,000 years.”
“On the flip side, the ocean is changing faster than it has for millions and millions of years,” Steeds added. “So, the more we can learn about the ocean now, the more we can help sustain it for future generations.”