‘Chock full of incredible animals’: marine expedition uncovers 31 new species in two weeks

A marine biology expedition in international waters off the coast of Brazil has discovered 31 new species in just two weeks. The researchers believe the speed at which the species were found and identified may be a record, in part because of the cutting-edge technology designed and built by the science and engineering team. For the first time on board a ship, the researchers were able to observe the living 3D cellular structure of microbial life thanks to a technological breakthrough nicknamed the Squid. The research vessel, Falkor (too), in the South Atlantic with two dozen international experts from the US, Australia, Brazil and Japan onboard. Photograph: Alex Ingle/Schmidt Ocean Institute Two dozen international experts, from the US, Australia, Brazil and Japan, carried out the survey onboard the Falkor (too), a research vessel operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute with support from the University of Western Australia and several other institutions. Setting out from Salvador, Bahia, their focus was on the ocean midwater – the area between the seafloor and the sunlit layer closer to the surface. The researchers said this was the largest habitat on Earth, encompassing 90% of the living space on our planet, and also one of the least explored. A Solmissus, or dinner plate jellyfish, preys upon a ctenophore, commonly known as a comb jelly. …