Carnivorous Death-Ball Sponge and Other New Species Have Been Found in the Deep Sea
A “death ball” sponge, worms with an appetite for bones, and other eccentric species make up the populace of a deep-sea community recently uncovered in the Southern Ocean. The residents there aren’t your typical underwater critters. Many are adapted to tolerate extreme conditions influenced by underwater volcanoes. Most have also never been seen before by humans.
Previously hidden underneath an iceberg, the biodiverse oasis was visited for the first time earlier this year by a remotely operated underwater vehicle, which collected evidence of 30 new species. The species’ discovery marks a pivotal moment in marine science, as the Southern Ocean teems with life that has yet to be sampled.
Read More: The Great Barrier Reef Experiences Largest Annual Decline in Nearly 40 Years
An Undersea Sanctuary Revealed
In January 2025, the opportunity of a lifetime opened up for marine scientists exploring the Southern Ocean. An iceberg nearly as large as the entire city of Chicago, named A-84, broke away from the George VI Ice Shelf, a massive floating glacier attached to the Antarctic Peninsula ice sheet.
As the iceberg separated, it exposed a seabed that wasn’t accessible before. Researchers aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too) vessel sent an underwater vehicle, ROV SuBasitan, to survey the uncharted seabed.
As the vehicle trekked across the seabed, it found a treasure trove of underwater secrets: hydrothermal vents, colorful coral gardens, and even a never-before-seen juvenile colossal squid. Overall, 2,000 specimens were collected across 14 animal groups and featured in thousands of images and hours of video, according to a news release.
Discovering a Carnivorous Sponge
Researchers are still working on classifying the species found during the expedition, but now, 30 of them have been confirmed as new species at the Southern Ocean Species Discovery Workshop, hosted by the University of Magallanes in Chile. The classification of these species comes as a result of a global initiative, The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census, which aims to discover at least 10,000 new species over 10 years.
“The Southern Ocean remains profoundly under-sampled. To date, we have only assessed under 30 percent of the samples collected from this expedition, so confirming 30 new species already shows how much biodiversity is still undocumented,” said Michelle Taylor, Head of Science at The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census in the news release.
“By coupling expeditions with species discovery workshops, we compress what often takes more than a decade into a faster pathway while maintaining scientific rigour by having world experts involved,” Taylor continued.
Headlining the group of new species is a “death-ball” sponge (Chondrocladia sp. nov.), given that name because of its spherical form and unusual predatory tendencies. The carnivorous sponge uses tiny hooks on its body to trap prey, quite unlike the more gentle filter-feeding of most sponges.
Another macabre-sounding group of creatures, “zombie worms” (Osedax sp.), was also observed. Although zombie worms are not new to researchers, they stand out for their ability to burrow into the bones of whales and other large vertebrates, consuming the collagen within.
The Search for New Species Continues
Other discoveries from the expedition include new armored and iridescent scale worms (Eulagisca sp. nov.), sea stars (Brisingidae, Benthopectinidae, and Paxillosidae), isopods and amphipods, and rare gastropods and bivalves that can tolerate volcanic and hydrothermal-influenced habitats. Several other species that haven’t been assessed yet may also be new, including black corals and a potential sea-pen genus.
To classify the new species, a team of taxonomists at the Southern Ocean Species Discovery Workshop imaged and compared specimens, using DNA-barcoding when needed.
Researchers will continue to assess the Southern Ocean species, and those that are deemed newly discovered will be curated in the open-access Ocean Census Biodiversity Data Platform. That way, information on the species can be accessed by anyone, from scientists to the general public.
Read More: New Deep-Sea Lanternshark and a Pearly White Crab Discovered Off the Australian Coast
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article: