Workshop identifies 57 species new to science in Argentine canyon
The story at a glance
A taxonomic workshop in Buenos Aires identified 57 marine species and five genera as new to science, using samples collected mainly during a 2025 expedition to Argentina’s Mar del Plata Canyon. The findings are workshop identifications, not completed formal species descriptions.123
The tally spans several animal groups, and the organisers say only a small part of the copepod samples has been examined so far. A separate survey has also documented plastic and fishing-related debris in the canyon.13
The story in brief
What you need to know
- The workshop ran from 13 to 24 July 2026 in Buenos Aires, bringing together 20 taxonomists and early-career researchers. They identified 57 species and five genera as new to science from the deep-sea material, collected mainly in the Mar del Plata Canyon in 2025.123
- The 57 species comprise 20 copepods, 22 echinoderms, 14 cnidarians and one scaphopod mollusc. The figures describe the workshop’s findings across the samples examined, rather than a completed formal inventory of the canyon’s species.13
- The organisers report that only 10% of the copepod samples had been examined, and that every specimen examined in that subset was judged new to science. This makes further examination a potential source of additional findings, although it does not establish how many more there will be.13
- The identifications have been recorded in Ocean Census NOVA, but formal descriptions remain future work. CONICET says the collaboration will help researchers describe the species formally; independent reporting notes that formal description involves a published paper and a reference specimen.123
- The discovery work sits alongside evidence of human debris in the canyon: a separate survey documented plastic and fishing-related litter. The available reporting establishes the debris’ presence, but not its long-term ecological effects.3
Conservation context
Why this matters
The findings add taxonomic knowledge about deep-sea life in a canyon that remains under study. They also underline the distinction between identifying organisms as new to science and formally describing them, while the litter survey documents a separate pressure in the same habitat.123
The developing story
What happens next
Researchers are expected to work towards formal descriptions, and the unexamined samples may be assessed further. Genetic analysis is also awaited for two possible new coral genera and a possible new family; the reporting does not establish what those analyses will conclude.12
Established evidence
What we know
- The workshop’s identifications were based mainly on samples from the 2025 expedition to the Mar del Plata Canyon.123
- The workshop included 20 taxonomists and early-career researchers and took place in Buenos Aires from 13 to 24 July 2026.12
- A sea cucumber identified as Peniagone sp. and nicknamed Loki was recorded at 2,577 metres. The orange sea star seen during the 2025 livestream was not considered a new species.13
- A separate survey documented plastic and fishing-related debris in the canyon, including observed interactions with marine life.3
Open questions
What we don't know
- How many of the 57 identifications will become formally published species descriptions, or how long that work will take.23
- Whether further examination of unprocessed samples will change the tally of species and genera identified as new to science.13
- What genetic analysis will conclude about the two possible new coral genera and possible new family.1
- What ecological effects, if any, are associated with the litter documented in the canyon; the reporting does not establish its long-term impacts.3
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