Guitar shark and 865 other new species discovered by scientists in world's oceans
New species of sharks found in the world's oceans (still from video/Ocean Census)
866 new marine species have been discovered over two years of ocean research by members of the global Ocean Census alliance. Among the species found are a new shark, sea butterfly, bamboo coral, eight-ray coral, shrimp, water bear, mud dragon, and others.
Amazing discoveries of the Ocean Census
Guitar shark
Oceanographer Dave Ebert, known as the "Hunter of the Endangered Sharks," has found a new species of guitar shark at a depth of 200 meters off the coast of Mozambique and Tanzania. This shark combines features of rays and common sharks. The guitar shark family is one of the top 10 most vulnerable vertebrate groups, and two-thirds of them are endangered.
Guitar shark (photo: oceancensus.org)
Poison mollusk
This deep-sea predator was found at depths of 380-400 meters off the coasts of New Caledonia and Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. It has venomous harpoon-like teeth that are used to inject toxins into its prey.
Poison clam (photo: oceancensus.org)
New starfish
A new species of starfish was discovered at a depth of 2770 to 3575 meters in the Arctic Ocean, off the coast of Greenland. This is only the second representative of this genus, the first was found in 1881 in the Norwegian Sea at a depth of 1100 meters.
A new species of starfish (photo: oceancensus.org)
Why is the new Ocean Census important
The Ocean Census expeditions used divers, submersibles, and robots to explore the seabed at depths of up to 5000 meters. All species found were carefully analyzed in laboratories around the world.
"Knowing about new species gives us the opportunity to develop methods for their conservation," explains Dave Ebert of the Pacific Shark Research Institute.
By the way, despite the fact that the oceans occupy most of the Earth, research on their biodiversity and protection remains low. In 2023, UN member states signed an international treaty on the protection of open ocean biodiversity. More than 100 countries have committed to protecting 30% of the world's oceans by 2030.
"The ocean covers 71% of our planet, but science has only explored about 10% of its inhabitants," said Dr. Michelle Taylor, lead researcher of the Ocean Census.
The Ocean Census project was founded in April 2023 by the Nippon Foundation and Nekton. It has been joined by 400 scientific institutions, and 93 scientists have received funding to participate in expeditions. The process of identifying and officially registering a new species can take up to 13.5 years, and many species are at risk of extinction before they are even documented.
"Our estimates show that it will take at least $1 billion to discover 100,000 new species. We're laying the groundwork for a major species discovery to become a reality, but our impact will ultimately depend on how this knowledge is used to support marine ecosystem protection, climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation," says Oliver Steeds, Director of Ocean Census.
A thread snail, a "hairy" shrimp, a White Sea star, a squat lobster (photo: oceancensus.org)
