Ocean Census finds 1,121 new marine species in global deep-sea push

A global deep-sea research initiative has identified 1,121 previously unknown marine species over the past year, underscoring both the scale of ocean biodiversity and how much of it remains uncharted, organisers said.

The Ocean Census, led by Japan's Nippon Foundation and the UK-based Nekton, said the discoveries were made through more than 1,000 researchers working across 85 countries. The effort marks a 54% increase in annual species identifications, according to project figures, reports CNN.

The initiative aims to map the deep sea, an ecosystem once considered largely barren but now understood to host a wide range of specialised life forms, many adapted to extreme conditions.

Scientists carried out 13 expeditions in some of the world's least explored marine regions, documenting a series of notable species.

Among them was a bristle polychaete worm found off Japan at a depth of around 2,600 feet. The organism lives inside what researchers described as a "glass castle" formed by the silica skeleton of a glass sponge. The two species maintain a symbiotic relationship, with the sponge providing habitat and the worm helping to clean its surface.

In Australia, researchers identified a ghost shark, or chimaera, at about 2,700 feet. The species belongs to a group of cartilaginous fish that diverged from sharks and rays nearly 400 million years ago.

In Timor-Leste, scientists discovered a ribbon worm measuring about one inch, marked by bright orange stripes. Researchers said the colouring signals chemical defences, and the compounds are being studied for possible links to treatments for Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

At depths of roughly 12,000 feet in the South Atlantic, researchers found a carnivorous sponge referred to as a "death ball". The sponge uses microscopic hook-like structures to capture and consume small crustaceans.

The Ocean Census described deep-sea exploration as a "race against time", citing threats from climate change, pollution and potential deep-sea mining activities.

Scientists involved in the project say many species risk being lost before they are formally recorded. Without scientific naming and documentation, a species effectively "does not exist" for science or policy purposes and cannot be legally protected, they say.

Traditionally, an average of 13.5 years can pass between the discovery of a species and its formal scientific description, the initiative said.

To speed up the process, the Ocean Census has introduced a "discovered" status, allowing validated findings to be added to an open-access database more quickly and made visible to researchers and policymakers.

The initiative also generalised the economic and scientific value of ocean exploration, arguing that deep-sea discovery requires a fraction of the funding used for space exploration missions while potentially yielding significant ecological and biomedical insights.