Deathball sponges, bone-eating worms and other eccentric species make up the population of a deep-sea community recently discovered in Southern Ocean. The inhabitants there are not typical underwater creatures. Many of them are adapted to withstand extreme conditions caused by underwater volcanoes. Most of them have never been seen by humans before.
Previously hidden beneath an iceberg, the biodiversity oasis was first visited earlier this year by a remotely operated submersible (ROV), which collected evidence of 30 new species. The discovery of this species marks a turning point in marine science, as the Southern Ocean is teeming with life that has yet to be sampled.
Read more: The Great Barrier Reef is experiencing its biggest annual decline in nearly 40 years.
Underwater shelter discovered
In January 2025, a unique opportunity opened up for marine scientists to explore the Southern Ocean. An iceberg almost as large as the entire city of Chicago, called A-84, broke off from the George VI Ice Shelf, a massive floating glacier attached to the ice sheet of the Antarctic Peninsula.
When the iceberg broke away, it exposed a seabed that had previously been impossible to access. Researchers aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute R/V Falkor (also) the ship sent an underwater vehicle, ROV SuBasitanto explore the uncharted seabed.
Traveling along the seabed, the device discovered a treasure trove of underwater secrets: hydrothermal vents, colorful coral gardens, and even a previously unseen young colossal squid. According to the study, a total of 2,000 samples were collected from 14 groups of animals, which were shown in thousands of images and hours of video. press release.
Detection of a carnivorous sponge
Researchers are still working on classification variety found during the expedition, but now 30 of them have been confirmed as new species at a Southern Ocean species discovery workshop organized by the University of Magallanes in Chile. The classification of these species is the result of the global Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census initiative, which aims to discover at least 10,000 new species in 10 years.
“The Southern Ocean remains underexplored. To date, we have only assessed less than 30 percent of the samples collected on this expedition, so the confirmation of 30 new species already shows how much biodiversity still remains undocumented,” Michelle Taylor, head of science at the Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census, said in a press release.
Zombie worms discovered around seal bones using ROV SuBastian at the Montague Island dive site.
Nippon-Ocean Census Nekton Foundation/Schmidt Ocean Institute © 2025
“By combining expeditions with species discovery workshops, we condense what often takes more than a decade into a faster journey, while maintaining scientific rigor by bringing in global experts,” Taylor continued.
The group of new species is headed by the “death ball” sponge (Chondrocladia sp. november), so named because of its spherical shape and unusual predatory tendencies. The carnivorous sponge uses tiny hooks on its body to catch prey, in contrast to the softer filter feeding of most sponges.
Another grim-sounding group of creatures, “zombie worms” (Osedax sp.), was also observed. While 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 they contain.
The search for new species continues
New iridescent scaly worm discovered by ROV SuBastian at an altitude of 2859 meters at the South Trench dive site, northwest of Zavodovsky Island.
(Image credit: Jialing Cai/Nippon Foundation – Nekton Ocean Census/Schmidt Ocean Institute © 2025)
Other discoveries from the expedition include new armored and iridescent scaled worms (Evlagiska sp. november), starfish (Brisingidae, Bentopectinides, And Paxilosides), isopods and amphipods, as well as rare gastropods and bivalves that can tolerate volcanic and hydrothermal habitats. Several other species that have not yet been assessed may also be new, including black corals and a potential genus of sea corals.
To classify the new species, a team of taxonomists from the Southern Ocean Species Discovery Workshop photographed and compared the specimens, using DNA barcoding where necessary.
Researchers will continue to evaluate Southern Ocean species, and those considered newly discovered will be stored on the open access Census Ocean Biodiversity Data Platform. Thus, information about this species can be made available to anyone, from scientists to the general public.
Read more: New deep-sea lantern shark and pearl white crab discovered off the coast of Australia
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