Meat-eating 'death balls' with velcro-like hooks and translucent 'ghost sharks' are among the more than 1,000 marine species discovered in the last year

By FRANCINE WOLFISZ, NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:51, 27 May 2026 | Updated: 21:55, 27 May 2026 Meat-eating 'death balls' with velcro-like hooks, translucent 'ghost sharks' with glowing eyes and a strange worm that shelters deep inside a glass sponge are among the more than 1,000 marine species discovered over the last year. Other new finds include a sea anemone that burrows deep into the ocean floor and bright orange-banded shrimp living in a sea cave off the coast of France. The newest species found by scientists include a type of chimaera or 'ghost shark' found more than 800m below the waves in the Australian Coral Sea marine park.  Chimaera are so named because its members often look like they have been sewn together from the parts of other fish - like the mythical Greek beast that was part lion, part goat, and part dragon.  Meanwhile, researchers also came across a 'death ball' sponge deep within the waters of the South Sandwich Islands, an uninhabited, remote chain of 11 volcanic islands in the sub-Antarctic South Atlantic. Discovered at a depth of 3,601m, the odd-looking carnivorous creature uses velcro-like hooks to catch tiny crustaceans, which are then slowly digested Boo-tiful: A translucent 'ghost shark' is among the more than 1,000 new species discovered by scientists over the last year Sticky situation: Discovered at a depth of 3,601m, the 'death ball sponge' uses Velcro-like hooks to catch tiny crustaceans, which are then slowly digested Bright orange-banded shrimp were found living in a sea cave off the coast of France Among the more unusual finds was a 'glass castle worm' which exists in a symbiotic relationship with a glass sponge. Found 791m below the surface, the worm nestles itself within the translucent skeleton of the sponge.  Researchers backed by the Nippon Foundation, Japan's largest philanthropic organisation, and Oxford-based charity Nekton, made the discoveries as part of the Ocean Census, an international effort to identify new marine life. Scientists believe there could be up to two million species living within the planet's oceans, which cover 70 per cent of Earth.  But to date only 240,000 species have been recognised. Among the more unusual finds was a 'glass castle worm' which exists in a symbiotic relationship with a glass sponge This ribbon worm was among the new species uncovered by the Ocean Census researchers The burrowing sea anenome hides itself deep into the surface The 'sea pen' are fleshy colonial organisms anchored to the seabed  A diver from the Shinkai 6500 submersible which helped make the new discoveries Programme director Oliver Steeds said the new species now coming to light - including the 1,121 discovered in the last year - reveal so much still remains unknown about the Earth. 'We spend billions searching for life on Mars or going to the dark side of the moon,' he said.  'Discovering the majority of life on our own planet, in our own ocean, costs a fraction of that. The question is not whether we can afford to do this. It is whether we can afford not to.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.