“Guitar Sharks” and snails and poisonous “harpoons” among 866 new marine species found in the ocean

After two years of collaborative efforts by scientists, governments, museums and others to participate in the marine census, more than 800 new marine species have been discovered, a global alliance that aims to speed up the discovery of marine life.

New species of sharks, sea butterflies, mud dragons, bamboo corals, water bears, octagons and shrimp are just a few of the discoveries registered in the catalog after collaborating on 10 global expeditions and hosting 8 species discovery workshops.

“The ocean census has been transformative over the past two years: we have pioneered new ways to build critical partnerships, built a network of global engaged scientists, and overcome barriers to a truly global mission,” Oliver Steeds, director of the Ocean Census, said in a statement.

Although the ocean covers most of our planet, there are not many marine reserves in protecting marine life, managing marine life protection and building marine reserves on high seas. Members of the United Nations Agree to unify a treaty
In 2023, protect biodiversity in the ocean. more than 100 countries
including the United States, has agreed to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.

“The oceans account for 71% of our planet, but it is said that only about 10% of marine life have been found so far, and an estimated 10,000 to 200,000 species are still unproven,” said Mitsuyuki Unno, executive director of the Nippon Foundation.

The alliance was formed by the Japan Foundation and Nickton in April 2023; the Ocean Census said on its website that about 400 institutions participated in its activities, and 93 scientists were funded to participate in expeditions and research projects to speed up the identification and formal registration of new species. The process can take up to 13.5 years, and some species may even become extinct before being recorded.

Dave Ebert of the Pacific Shark Institute said in a video that we have another new species: “We can develop conservation methods for this – if needed.”

Recent expeditions initiated by the Ocean Census use divers, submersibles and deep-sea robots 5,000 meters below sea level to discover new species. The species was analyzed and confirmed in dozens of global laboratories.

Some species found include:

Guitar Shark

Ebert is also known as the “Lost Shark Guy” and his guitar shark with a depth of 200m in Mozambique and Tanzania, Africa. The shark has 38 known species around the world and has shark and ray characteristics. The guitar shark family is one of the most threatened vertebrate groups, with two-thirds being threatened.

turridrupa sp stomach foot

The predator found 380-400m in New Caledonia and Vanuatu waters in the South Pacific and is one of 100 newly identified Turrid gastropods. These deep-sea snails use their poisonous harpoon-like teeth to inject to their prey accurately.

Starfish: Master Tai sp.

This is 2770m to 35.75m of the Jottener ventilated field in the Arctic in eastern Greenland, the second species recorded in the genus, the first to reference the first in the Norwegian Sea at 1100m in 1881.