Posted inNew Discoveries
New Ray Species Identified Off Unexpected Coastlines
A dead ray washes up on a Florida beach in the middle of summer. A fisheries boat off Peru hauls up something nobody in the crew can name. A research…
Posted inNew Discoveries
Undersea Volcano Discoveries: New Species Found Near Hydrothermal Vents
Every time a research submarine drops below 2,000 meters near an undersea volcano, there's a decent chance the crew will meet an animal that science has never named. That is…
Posted inNew Discoveries
New Bioluminescent Species Found: How Scientists Confirm Glowing Animals
Somewhere off the coast of Western Australia, a research vessel called the RV Investigator hauled up a shark that nobody had a name for. It lived at roughly 2,000 feet…
Posted inNew Discoveries
Newly Described Sea Spider Species and Why They’re Larger Than Expected
I still remember the first time a colleague handed me a jar with a sea spider inside it. He asked me to guess its size before I looked. I guessed…
Posted inNew Discoveries
New Anglerfish Species Discovered in the Pacific Abyss
The deep Pacific just got a little stranger, and a lot more interesting. Somewhere past 1,000 meters, in water so dark it swallows every wavelength of light, researchers found a…
Posted inNew Discoveries
New Nudibranch Species: The Sea Slugs Still Surprising Scientists
Somewhere off the coast of California, a diver drops below the kelp canopy. She spots a creature that looks hand-painted. It's frilled, glowing, and no bigger than a thumbnail. Nobody…
Posted inNew Discoveries
Deep-Sea Expedition Discoveries: What Research Ships Found This Year
I still remember the first time I watched a live ROV feed from three thousand meters down and forgot to breathe for a solid ten seconds. That is what a…
Posted inNew Discoveries
New Octopus Species Named After Mythical Creatures: The Naming Trend Explained
Off the coast of southeastern Australia, at a depth of about 2,000 meters, a trawl net once pulled up a small flapjack octopus with wing-like fins. It sat unidentified in…
Posted inNew Discoveries
New Abyssal Species: Why the Deep Ocean Still Hides So Many Secrets
Every year, marine scientists add roughly 2,000 to 2,500 species to the official record of ocean life. Naturally, it is tempting to picture most of them rising out of the…
Posted inDeep Sea Mysteries
Underwater Volcano Eruptions: The Eruptions Happening Right Now Beneath the Waves
Somewhere on the ocean floor, right now, molten rock pushes through a crack in Earth's crust. Nobody on the surface can see it happen. That is the strange truth about…