Scientists discover over 110 new deep-sea species in the Coral Sea during a 35-day expedition
Consensus Summary
Scientists aboard the CSIRO’s RV Investigator discovered over 110 new fish and invertebrate species in the Coral Sea during a 35-day expedition, with expectations that the total could exceed 200. The voyage, funded by a $5 million CSIRO grant, explored Australia’s largest marine protected area—spanning nearly 1 million square kilometers east of the Great Barrier Reef—where deep-sea biodiversity was previously poorly understood. Dr. Will White identified four new species, including a skate, a ray (Urolophus stingaree), a deepwater catshark (Apristurus genus), and a chimaera (ghost shark), while Dr. Claire Rowe collected tissue samples of cryptic species like jellyfish and anemones. Samples were gathered from depths up to 3,900 meters, revealing rare creatures such as brittlestars, crabs, and sponges. Both articles emphasize the urgency of these discoveries amid climate change, overfishing, and deep-sea mining threats, with the Coral Sea’s surface temperatures rising nearly half a degree over decades. The expedition’s findings are being systematically analyzed, with data writing expected to take years, and the specimens added to national collections for future research. While both sources agree on the scale of discoveries, ABC provides more technical details on sample volume and long-term data processing, while the Guardian offers richer descriptive details of the species’ physical traits.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- More than 110 new fish and invertebrate species were discovered in the Coral Sea, with scientists expecting the total to exceed 200
- The expedition took place aboard the CSIRO’s RV Investigator, departing Brisbane in October and lasting 35 days
- The Coral Sea marine park, Australia’s largest marine protected area, spans nearly 1 million square kilometers east of the Great Barrier Reef
- Dr. Will White (CSIRO voyage chief scientist) identified four new species: a skate, ray (Urolophus stingaree), deepwater catshark (Apristurus genus), and a chimaera (ghost shark)
- Specimens were collected from waters between 200 meters and 3 kilometers deep, including locations like the Kenn Plateau and Mellish Reef (~1,000 km off Queensland)
- The voyage was supported by a $5 million CSIRO grant and involved 24 scientists, with deep-sea cameras and trawling nets used to collect samples
- Dr. Claire Rowe (Australian Museum) collected tissue samples and photographed invertebrates, including cryptic species like jellyfish and anemones
- The Coral Sea’s surface temperatures are nearly half a degree warmer than 30–40 years ago, with record-high temperatures in recent summers
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The new ray species (Urolophus) was described as having a long tail with a caudal fin at the end
- The deepwater catshark was described as ‘very dark-bodied, almost flabby, truly deepwater, very slow moving, with lots of little teeth’
- The skate (Dipturus genus) was noted to have a ‘long triangular snout area’ and ‘thorns around the eyes’
- The chimaera was described as having a ‘rat-like tail, quite a plump nose, and a big spine above the dorsal fin’
- The expedition traveled as far as Mellish Reef (~1,000 km off Queensland)
- The voyage was framed as part of ‘likely the largest taxonomic workshops of marine animals ever undertaken in Australia’
- The Coral Sea’s warming was explicitly tied to climate change threats alongside overfishing and deep-sea mining
- The voyage was described as exploring ‘one of the poorest known deep-water faunas in the world’
- Over 6,000 individual catches were made during the expedition, with data writing expected to take 10–20 years
- Dr. White noted the voyage may be the ‘last time we get into that Coral Sea area for 50+ years’
- The deepwater catshark was identified as a ‘new species’ by Dr. White ‘straight away’
- The voyage’s samples are being added to the Australian Museum’s collection of over 500,000 invertebrate specimens
- Dr. Rowe emphasized the area’s ‘baseline’ importance for future comparisons, noting it hasn’t been sampled before
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The Guardian mentions the expedition traveled to Mellish Reef (~1,000 km off Queensland), but ABC does not specify this location
- The Guardian states the Coral Sea marine park spans ‘nearly 1m sq km’ (1 million sq km), while ABC says it covers ‘almost 1 million square kilometers’ (no discrepancy in number, but phrasing differs)
- The Guardian describes the deep-sea depth range as ‘200 metres and 3km deep,’ while ABC specifies ‘up to 3,900 metres deep’ (ABC’s number is more precise and likely correct)
- The Guardian highlights that the voyage was ‘the largest taxonomic workshops of marine animals ever undertaken in Australia,’ a claim not echoed in ABC
- ABC states the voyage was supported by a $5 million CSIRO *Marine National Facility* grant, while the Guardian omits this specific funding detail
Source Articles
Deepwater discoveries: scientists find more than 110 new fish and invertebrate species in the Coral Sea
Brittlestars, sea anemones and a catshark among new-to-science species collected during expedition off the Queensland coast Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Marine scientis...
New shark species discovered in 'unexplored' deep-sea waters off Qld
More than 110 new fish and invertebrate species are discovered during a CSIRO voyage in the deep Coral Sea....