Record-breaking ocean discoveries – over 800 new species in two years

In just two years, scientists working under the Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census program have discovered over 800 new marine species. This is the world’s largest ocean research initiative, revealing the scale of deep-sea biodiversity at an unprecedented pace and significantly expanding our knowledge of ocean life.

Two years of Ocean Census

Only 10 percent of marine species have been discovered so far – explains Dr. Michelle Taylor, one of the lead researchers of the Ocean Census initiative. The program is an unprecedented alliance of philanthropists, government administration, business, science, media, and civil society aimed at accelerating the discovery and classification of new marine species, of which millions remain unidentified.

Since April 2023, ten scientific expeditions have been conducted under the Ocean Census banner, exploring ocean depths of up to 5,000 meters. These missions involved divers, research submarines, and deep-sea robots. With the participation of over 800 scientists from various countries, new marine species were studied in laboratories equipped with advanced imaging and chemical diagnostic technologies, as well as genetic sequencing. This has made it possible to accelerate the process of species identification and description from the standard span of several years to just several months.

What new marine species have been discovered?

In the first two years of Ocean Census, scientists have identified and described 866 new marine species. These include corals, nudibranchs, crabs, shrimp, fish, sponges, acorn worms, tardigrades, snails, sea spiders, and brittle stars.

One particularly noteworthy discovery is the 38th species of guitarfish (Rhinobatos sp.), found at a depth of 200 meters off the coast of Tanzania. Due to its distinctive shape, it was named the guitarfish. Near New Caledonia and Vanuatu, a new sea snail from the genus Turridrupa was identified, whose venom contains peptides with high potential for treating chronic pain and cancer. In the Maldives, scientists identified the fifth known species of octocoral, a group of soft corals that play a crucial role in maintaining the structural stability of coral reefs and serve as important habitats and shelters for a wide variety of marine fauna.

The Bounty Trough off the coast of New Zealand remains largely unexplored and is considered one of the hotspots of marine biodiversity. In this region, Ocean Census researchers have already discovered a new sponge species from the genus Janulum and an undescribed species of rare cusk eel living at depths greater than 2,500 meters.

Why is this important?

Identifying new marine species is essential for their effective protection – after all, we cannot protect organisms whose existence we are unaware of. In the face of ongoing biodiversity loss in aquatic environments, in-depth taxonomic knowledge becomes an indispensable tool in efforts to preserve the integrity of marine ecosystems.

The more we know about animals inhabiting the deep sea, the better we understand oceanic ecosystems and the importance of all forms of life on Earth – adds Dr. Taylor. Very often, small or even microscopic species are found to be the foundation of a given ecosystem’s functioning. New marine species can also serve as sources of raw materials and inspiration for scientific breakthroughs in fields such as biotechnology and pharmacology. All data collected during Ocean Census expeditions are shared through an open platform intended to support scientists, environmental advocates, and policymakers in shaping better strategies for sustainable ocean resource management.

For 2025, Ocean Census has planned ten more deep-sea expeditions involving hundreds of international researchers. The program’s director, Oliver Steeds, estimates that discovering 100,000 new marine species will require at least $1 billion in funding. Our impact depends on how this new knowledge is used to support marine environmental protection, climate adaptation, and biodiversity conservation – adds Steeds.

main photo: The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census