During 13 expeditions and other efforts between mid-2025 and mid-2026, scientists discovered hundreds of previously unknown creatures living beneath the waves.
By KR Callaway edited by Claire Cameron
Researchers conducting the Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census have discovered more than 1,100 new species, including this sea pen found in the South Sandwich Islands.
Paul Satchell/The Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census/Schmidt Ocean Institute
Less than 0.001 percent of the seafloor has never been directly seen by scientists. From underwater trenches to sea caves, there are myriad spaces where unknown creatures can lurk. And thanks to the Ocean Census Alliance, we now know 1,121 entirely new species living under the ocean waves.
This global research collaboration aims to unveil as many new marine species as possible. Over the course of 13 expeditions and nine workshops over the past year, the alliance has worked tirelessly to identify and categorize new species, a typically slow process.
“I think it’s very important to try to speed up this process,” says Michelle Taylor, chief scientist at the Ocean Census Alliance. “Then that information is available…for conservation measures, for taxonomists and just to know what’s out there.”
On supporting science journalism
If you enjoy this article, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribe. By purchasing a subscription, you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
On average, more than 13 years pass between the collection of an unidentified specimen and its formal description as a new species. And for less studied organisms, like sea sponges, this delay can be even longer. In 2011, scientists estimated that up to 91 percent of ocean species remained unexplored – so completely describing all of our planet’s marine inhabitants would take scientists centuries at the current rate.
This small dwarf goby fish was found among the reefs of Australia’s isolated Coral Sea. Unlike similar Australian species of dwarf goby, which are generally green, this unique red-eyed specimen is spotted with oranges and yellows.
Chris Goatley/The Nippon Foundation – Nekton Ocean Census
Over the past three years, the Ocean Census Alliance has worked with taxonomists around the world to accelerate discoveries. Its open access data platform NOVA Ocean Census now home to thousands of entries detailing previously unknown species lurking in the depths. The 1,121 new species discovered between mid-2025 and mid-2026 represent a 54% increase in annual identifications.
Off the coast of East Timor, researchers have discovered brightly striped ribbon worms that they believe may contain toxins that could provide new treatments for human diseases. And in a human-operated submersible off the coast of Japan, researchers spotted spiky sponges whose skeletons were made of transparent, glass-like silica. Inside these creatures, they discovered a new species of equally transparent worms, called polychaetes, which provide nutrients to the sponges.
“Some of these polychaetes are also bioluminescent, [or glow]so I love the idea that there are these crystalline glass sponge castles, and they probably sparkle to each other,” Taylor says.
This tapeworm has bright stripes that can serve to warn predators of its venom. Researchers are studying similar toxins from other Nemertea species as a potential treatment for diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia.
The Nippon Foundation – Nekton Ocean Census/Gustav Paulay
Found nearly 800 meters below the surface, this translucent animal and another are both the first of their species to be identified and the first hairworms, or polychaetes, to be discovered living symbiotically in a glass sponge.
The Nippon Foundation – Nekton Ocean Census/JAMSTEC
Incredibly, the majority of new species discovered over the past year came not from new ocean explorations but from Ocean Census Alliance programs that funded researchers who already had specimens they had not yet identified. Of the total 1,121 new species, 728 were discovered by teams digging through museum archives and their own collections.
The third species known in rarity Harenactis genus, this burrowing sea anemone burrows into the sediments of shallow waters within difficult-to-access intertidal zones. Researchers first discovered this specimen in 2010, but are only now beginning to be able to define it as a new species.
The Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census/August Garese
To identify a new species, researchers analyze specimens using microscopes, scanning, dissection and DNA testing, then make careful drawings and descriptions of what they see. This is a process that typically requires in-depth expertise in different types of organisms, allowing researchers to spot new species among their specimens.
“It takes a huge global village to contribute to the 1,121 species discovered,” says Taylor. “I am constantly amazed by the things we find in our marine environment: it’s magical. »
Even near big cities, there are always more species to explore. These brightly banded shrimp were found in a sea cave near Marseille, France.
The Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census/Hossein Ashrafi
It’s time to defend science
If you enjoyed this article, I would like to ask for your support. Scientific American has been defending science and industry for 180 years, and we are currently experiencing perhaps the most critical moment in these two centuries of history.
I was a Scientific American subscriber since the age of 12, and it helped shape the way I see the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of respect for our vast and magnificent universe. I hope this is the case for you too.
If you subscribe to Scientific Americanyou help ensure our coverage centers on meaningful research and discoveries; that we have the resources to account for decisions that threaten laboratories across the United States; and that we support budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In exchange, you receive essential information, captivating podcastsbrilliant infographics, newsletters not to be missedunmissable videos, stimulating gamesand the best writings and reports from the scientific world. You can even give someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you will support us in this mission.
