The third year of a global Ocean Census has revealed 1,121 potentially new-to-science marine species, including a worm that lives inside a “glass castle,” a ghost shark, and a carnivorous sponge.
The Ocean Census, launched in April 2023, aims to discover and describe marine life “at speed and at scale” before it is lost. The initiative is a joint mission of the Nippon Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization in Japan, and Nekton, a marine science and conservation institute in the U.K.
In just three years, scientists from around the world have discovered more than 2,000 marine species. Of these, roughly half were found between April 2025 and March 2026, Michelle Taylor, head of science at the Ocean Census, told Mongabay by email.
Among the newly described species is a polychaete worm, Dalhousiella yabukii, discovered last year during a deep-sea expedition off Tokyo. The worm, found at a depth of 791 meters (2,595 feet), lives in symbiotic relationship within a glass sponge. These sponges build castle-like structures using silica, the same material in glass.
“The polychaete gains protection from the spiky glass silica spines that form the sponge architecture and the sponge gains nutrients from the polychaete. A match made in deep-sea heaven,” Taylor said.
Other discoveries include a new species of ghost shark off Australia’s Queensland coast; a vibrant new ribbon worm found off Timor-Leste; and a shrimp discovered in a sea cave off the French city of Marseille.
Scientists also found a carnivorous “death ball sponge” at an extreme depth of 3,601 m (11,814 ft) off the uninhabited South Sandwich Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. Unlike most sponges that are passive filter feeders, this species of Chondrocladia actively catches prey. It uses velcro-like hooks to trap crustaceans passing by, then envelopes and eats them.
All marine life “discovered” as part of the Ocean Census are likely new to science, and have been recorded in a digital platform called NOVA. Many still await a formal description of their features and a scientific name. That process can take an average of 13.5 years, sometimes even 24 years for sponges, as there are so few experts, Taylor said. The researchers aim to fast-track the species descriptions using NOVA.
“Previously, a specimen might sit invisible in a museum vault for decades before being described,” Taylor said. “Now, scientists anywhere can quickly log images, metadata, molecular barcodes, and taxonomic remarks for a discovered species.”
While exciting, the recent discoveries come against a “backdrop of a stark race against time,” Taylor added.
“Knowing that we managed to increase the global annual marine discovery rate by 54% this year is impressive, but we still face significant challenges with the real risk that some biodiversity is lost before it can ever be shielded by policy or protections,” she said.
Banner image: A new species of carnivorous “death ball” sponge from the genus Chondrocladia, discovered off the South Sandwich Islands. Image courtesy of ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute.
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