New Species of the Deep

The most comprehensive survey ever undertaken of the world’s oceans has uncovered around 6000 potential new species. The first ever Census of Marine Life, which has taken a decade to complete, estimates the number of known species to increased from 230000 to nearly 250000. As pictured here is a new species of hydromedusae, common at depths below 1000 metres, which was found by a remotely operated vehicle in the seas around the Arctic.