Many parts of the deep sea and ocean still remain a mystery! But a new 10 year project called “The Census of Marine Life” has made some incredible new discoveries!
“The Census of Marine Life” includes an international group of 2000 scientists from 82 nations! Some of their new findings include:
• New species of octopuses that live deep in the ocean and have lost their defensive ink sacs because they don’t need them so deep under water.
• A White Shark Café! They call it that because satellite tags have revealed that white sharks travel long distances each winter to congregate together in the Pacific for up to six months.
• In the Antarctic waters, a team of scientists discovered HUGE versions of animals: huge scaly worms, giant crustaceans, giant sea stars and sea spiders as big as dinner plates!
It is estimated that there are at least 1 million marine organisms on Earth, but to date scientists only know of 230,000 (that’s less than a quarter)! Hopefully by the time they finish the project in 2010, they’ll have come a lot farther!
Meanwhile check out their website below for more info.