Ocean Census and Schmidt Ocean Institute fast-track South Atlantic species identification in Buenos Aires, as a viral deep-sea expedition leads to new species discoveries
- Scientists from Ocean Census Network identified 57 new species and 5 new genera in just two weeks.
- Specimens from the August 2025 Schmidt Ocean Institute deep-sea expedition in Argentina’s Mar del Plata Canyon that live-streamed a starfish to global fame.
- New species include “Loki the Sea Cucumber” (Peniagone sp.), a remarkable abundance of deep-sea copepods, and 5 new scientific genera spanning corals, sea cucumbers, and crustaceans.
- Hosted by the Universidad Maimónides in collaboration with Schmidt Ocean Institute, CONICET, and the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales.
BUENOS AIRES (September, 2026) – An international Species Discovery Workshop, led by the Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census in partnership with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, has resulted in the identification of 57 new marine species and 5 genera, shedding new light on one of the most biologically dynamic regions in the South Atlantic Ocean.
The workshop brought together 20 taxonomists and early-career researchers from across Latin America and Europe to examine deep-sea biological samples, primarily from the Schmidt Ocean Institute Underwater Oasis of the Mar del Plata Canyon expedition in August 2025 onboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor (too), using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) SuBastian. Hosted at the Universidad Maimónides in Buenos Aires from 13–24 July 2026, the team utilised integrated taxonomy techniques to rapidly identify specimens, logging discoveries directly onto Ocean Census NOVA, the world’s first open-access data platform for newly discovered marine species.
Among the key findings was “Loki the Sea Cucumber” (Peniagone sp.), a striking deep-sea echinoderm named for its horned appendages, resembling the god of Norse legend. In total, the team identified 20 new species of copepods, 22 echinoderms (sea cucumbers and crinoids), 14 cnidarians (octocorals, sea pens, and stony corals), and 1
