Twenty thousand new ones, to be exact. The first Census of Marine Life, a 10-year long endeavor to catalogue and better understand the inhabitants of the world's oceans, has been completed and it confirms that about 20,000 marine species have been added to the existing list (now at 250,000, up from 230,000). With some 130 new species of fish discovered annually and more than 6,000 potentially new ones identified as a result of the census, it's clear we still know little about what's going on Under The Sea (thanks anyway, Sebastian).
The most notable thing in the entire report was a single, loaded line: "It found that rare species are common." Common. Here's one more thought for you to chew on.
"After all its work, the Census still could not reliably estimate the total number of species, the kinds of life, known and unknown, in the ocean."
Report highlights can be viewed here.
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