{"id":578347,"date":"2026-04-01T10:34:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/578347\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T10:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T10:34:18","slug":"incredible-photos-as-110-new-species-discovered-deep-in-aussie-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/578347\/","title":{"rendered":"Incredible photos as 110 new species discovered deep in Aussie waters"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 110 new species from 200 to 4,000 metres beneath the ocean surface have been documented by Aussie scientists.<\/p>\n

Ghostshark, demon-catshark, ray and octopus are among the new discoveries announced by Australia\u2019s national science body CSIRO<\/a> following a research mission by its vessel (RV) Investigator<\/a>\u00a0in October and November on the Coral Sea.<\/p>\n

Some of the more unusual creatures include an apricot-coloured starry handfish, a grumpy-looking deep-sea batfish, and a lizardfish with a mouthful of threatening teeth.<\/p>\n

They were also able to observe rare creatures in their natural environment, like the sand tiger shark, a deepwater cousin of the endangered grey nurse shark<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The voyage took place in remote areas of the Coral Sea Marine Park, including Kenn Plateau, which is around 500km off the central Queensland coast.<\/p>\n

Voyage chief scientist and CSIRO shark expert, Dr Will White, told Yahoo News it was unusual to document such a high number of species so quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the ones that we\u2019re confident are new species, but that number is going to keep growing as we get genetic results in, and people get to examine more animals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo to be this early on and to already be looking at over 110 species is a real win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Halieutaea stellata, or starry handfish. Source: CSIRO, Emily Gumina.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A new octopus identified during the Coral Sea Frontier voyage. Source: CSIRO, Emily Gumina.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The deep sea lizardfish, (Bathysaurus ferox). Source: CSIRO, Emily Gumina.<\/p>\n

Expert teams gather at four locations to examine species<\/p>\n

Ordinarily, identifying new species is a slow process because Australia invests so little in scientists who specialise in taxonomy.<\/p>\n

Institutions around the country have shelves lined with boxes of unusual creatures<\/a> that are waiting to be identified, and there are CSIRO deep-sea marine hauls from years ago that are yet to be fully examined.<\/p>\n

Incredibly, in this case, CSIRO was able to gather 50 experts to examine the preserved marine life collected during the mission.<\/p>\n

Between December to February they painstakingly measured, photographed, and genetically tested the animals at CSIRO offices in Hobart and Brisbane, and museums in Melbourne and Perth.<\/p>\n

Many of the animals are described as “cryptic” because they closely resemble other species, and so only scientists with niche expertise are able to decipher which are new.<\/p>\n

While Dr White is confident the animals are new species, formally describing their appearance and genetics will take much longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a study that showed that on average it takes 13 years for a new species to be identified,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s a bit skewed because some take longer \u2014 I\u2019ve worked on a couple that took 120 years to describe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A naked-belly deep-sea batfish. Source: CSIRO, Emily Gumina.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A deep-sea boarfish (Antigonia capros). Source: CSIRO, Emily Gumina.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A new type of catshark. Source: CSIRO<\/p>\n

Discovery only ‘scratches surface’ of ocean knowledge<\/p>\n

The research was a collaboration between CSIRO and the Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census, a global initiative to discover new marine life and advance conservation.<\/p>\n

Information about the new species will be shared with Parks Australia, which manages the marine parks where the sampling occurred.<\/p>\n

The government permits some trawling, and the new research will help authorities plan how best to balance commercial pressures with environmental protection.<\/p>\n

Understanding what life occurs deep beneath the ocean surface will also become more important as mining companies begin to explore these environments.<\/p>\n

The team expects to identify upwards of 200 new species, but Dr White said their new research is only beginning to \u201cscratch the surface\u201d.<\/p>\n

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