The Quick and the Curious: Discover the Mysterious New Creatures of the Deep Sea

Ocean biodiversity is under significant threat due to global changes, but new initiatives like the Ocean Species Discoveries, coordinated by the Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance, aim to rapidly describe and publish findings on marine species.

This innovative approach reduces the usual decades-long delay in species description, directly contributing to the conservation efforts needed to protect vulnerable marine habitats and their undiscovered inhabitants.

Accelerating Biodiversity Research
Accelerating global change continues to threaten Earth’s vast biodiversity, including in the oceans, which remain largely unexplored. To date, only a small fraction of an estimated two million total living marine species have been named and described. A major challenge is the time it takes to scientifically describe and publish a new species, which is a crucial step in studying and protecting these species.