Marine expedition discovers 31 new species off Brazil in two weeks

A marine biology expedition in international waters off the coast of Brazil discovered 31 new species over a two-week survey. Two dozen international experts from the US, Australia, Brazil and Japan worked aboard the research vessel Falkor (too), operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute with support from the University of Western Australia and other institutions.

Their focus was the ocean midwater, the zone between the seafloor and the sunlit surface that researchers describe as the largest habitat on Earth, encompassing 90% of the planet’s living space and remaining largely unexplored. The newly recorded animals included an amphipod, a fast-moving gossamer worm, nine jellyfish, seven siphonophores, seven comb jellies, four larvaceans and two giant rhizarians.

The team also made rare live observations of other deep midwater creatures, using remotely operated vehicles and close-range imaging to capture details normally missed in deep-sea sampling.

Brazil, international waters

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