Scientists Discover More Than 110 New Species in the Deep Waters of Australia’s Coral Sea
Marine scientists have identified more than 110 new fish and invertebrate species lurking in the deep waters of the Coral Sea — and they believe the final count could exceed 200 as more specimens are examined.
The discoveries were made possible through a collaboration between CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census. Taxonomists identified the fish and invertebrates from specimens collected late last year by scientists aboard the CSIRO research vessel Investigator.
A 35-Day Voyage Into the Unknown
The new-to-science species — including brittlestars, crabs, sea anemones and sponges — were gathered during a 35-day voyage that set sail from Brisbane last October. The vessel traveled as far as Mellish Reef, about 1,000km off the Queensland coast.
The creatures were found in waters between 200 metres and 3km deep in the Coral Sea marine park, Australia’s largest marine protected area. The park spans nearly 1 million square kilometers to the east of the Great Barrier Reef.
Dr. Will White, a shark expert and the CSIRO voyage chief scientist, said the expedition set out to learn more about the area’s deepwater biodiversity, for which there was “very limited data.”
Specimens collected on board were subsequently identified during what White believes were “likely the largest taxonomic workshops of marine animals ever undertaken in Australia.”
Ghost Sharks, Catsharks and Stingarees
White himself identified four new species — a new skate, ray, deepwater catshark and chimaera, also known as a ghost shark.
The ray species, found on the Kenn Plateau about halfway between Australia and New Caledonia, was a type of stingaree in the genus Urolophus. The animals were like stingrays, White said. “They’ve got a relatively long tail but then they’ve got a caudal fin at the end.”
The new deepwater catshark, in the genus Apristurus, was a tropical species. “They’re very dark-bodied, they’re almost flabby – truly deepwater things, very slow moving, [with] lots of little teeth,” White said.
Another discovery was a new chimaera — also known as a ghost shark or rat fish — a type of animal related to sharks and rays, which have cartilaginous rather than bony skeletons. White described the animals as having a “rat-like tail, quite a plump nose, and a big spine above the dorsal fin.”
Unlocking Mysteries Among Invertebrates
Dr. Claire Rowe, the marine invertebrates collection manager at the Australian Museum, said invertebrate specialists on board the Investigator photographed and took tissue samples of the newly collected animals.
She said many invertebrates, including jellyfish, were cryptic — difficult to identify based on physical characteristics alone. “There does look like there’s some new species of anemones, which is quite exciting,” she said.
Scientists were conducting further genetic testing from the tissue samples to confirm which collected specimens were new to science.
Why These Discoveries Matter
Such marine expeditions were important, Rowe said, because “so little is known about the deep sea.”
“It’s such an unexplored area, and with so many threats to our ocean, such as overfishing and climate change and deep sea mining, we need to understand what’s out there before it’s lost,” she said.
The urgency of that work is underscored by changing ocean conditions. The Coral Sea is almost half a degree warmer than it was 30 or 40 years ago, climate scientists say. The sea surface temperatures there over both the last summer and calendar year have been the hottest on record.
Samples from the voyage have been shared around the country, held in collections including at the CSIRO, the Australian Museum and state museums. As genetic testing continues, the total number of confirmed new species from the expedition could still grow well beyond the current count.
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