Ocean Census Expedition Uncovers 57 New Marine Species in South Atlantic Submarine Canyon

Within a fortnight, researchers uncovered 57 previously unknown marine species and five new genera in the Mar del Plata Submarine Canyon, located off the coast of Argentina. This exploration was spearheaded by the Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census in collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, utilizing the research vessel Falkor (too) along with the remotely operated vehicle SuBastian. Among the discoveries were 20 copepods, 22 echinoderms, 14 cnidarians, and one scaphopod mollusk, including the notable Peniagone sp., known as 'Loki the Sea Cucumber.' Dr. Daniel Lauretta highlighted the importance of global collaboration in taxonomy, noting that only 10% of copepod samples have been analyzed, all of which are new to science. The expedition, which was live-streamed over a year ago, garnered over four million viewers. The Ocean Census anticipates that up to 1.75 million ocean species remain unidentified.