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Scientists usually discover a possible new deep-sea species when an ROV camera records an unfamiliar animal or a research team collects it during a dive. Neither a striking image nor a first impression is enough to confirm a new species: specialists compare its features with known organisms, examine specimens, and may use DNA evidence before publishing a formal description. That work can continue for years after an expedition.
How a deep-sea species discovery begins
Research vessels send remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) into the deep ocean to film and document life on the seafloor. Researchers connect observations to details such as location and depth, and may record environmental measurements as well. NOAA’s Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide organizes observations by taxonomic group and lets users search by keyword, depth, and location; entries link to dive records.
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Footage can reveal an organism worth investigating, but camera images may not show the features needed to distinguish it from a known species. Scientists therefore treat an unfamiliar sighting as a candidate or potentially undescribed organism—not a confirmed discovery—until specialists complete the analysis.
How researchers investigate a candidate species
Document the sighting and decide whether to collect
ROV observations preserve an organism in its natural setting and help researchers record where it was seen. When a closer examination is needed, an ROV can use tools and sample containers to collect biological material. A physical specimen lets specialists inspect anatomy and, where appropriate, retain material for genetic analysis. NOAA explains that species-level identification of unique organisms usually requires a biological sample brought back to a lab in its Life Cycle of a Deep-Sea Sample factsheet.
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Collection is not the only way to gather biological evidence. Researchers can also take water samples and filter them for environmental DNA (eDNA)—genetic material shed by organisms into their surroundings. This can reveal a biological signal even when an organism is not seen on camera, though the result depends on correctly interpreting and assigning the recovered sequences.
Label, photograph, and preserve samples
On board, scientists label and photograph collected material and document its taxonomic features and scale. They select preservation methods with later morphological or genetic work in mind. Shipboard processing may take more than 24 hours, according to NOAA; the time depends on the number and types of samples.
Compare anatomy with known species
Taxonomists examine a specimen’s physical features and compare them with descriptions of known species. Small but diagnostic structures may require microscopy. In an account of deep-sea black corals, NOAA notes that samples must be collected and examined closely under a microscope to determine whether a species is new. The work is comparative: an unfamiliar appearance is not by itself proof that the organism represents a distinct species.
Use DNA as supporting evidence
Molecular evidence can help when specimens are damaged, when different life stages look unlike one another, or when close relatives are hard to distinguish by appearance. DNA barcoding helped resolve one such case: NOAA describes how barcode evidence linked the larval crustacean Cerataspis monstrosa with the deep-sea shrimp Plesiopenaeus armatus.
eDNA serves a different role: researchers collect and filter water, sequence genetic material, and assign taxonomic names to the resulting sequences. It complements visual surveys and specimen examination; a DNA signal in water is not, by itself, a formal description of a new species.
What the main identification methods can establish
| Method | What it reveals | Specimen needed? | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROV imagery | An organism’s appearance and behavior in its setting, along with observation context such as location and depth. | No | Footage may not show diagnostic anatomical details. |
| Collected specimen | Direct anatomical examination, including small features under a microscope; material can also be used for genetic analysis. | Yes | Requires collection and subsequent laboratory study. |
| DNA barcoding | Genetic evidence that can help identify difficult specimens or connect different life stages. | Biological material is needed for analysis. | It complements, rather than replaces, comparison and taxonomic analysis. |
| Environmental DNA | Genetic traces recovered from water, potentially indicating organisms without a visual encounter. | No organism specimen is required, but water must be sampled and filtered. | Sequences must be interpreted and assigned to taxa; the signal alone does not formally describe a species. |
From expedition candidate to published species
A new-species conclusion comes after specialists have analyzed the evidence and formally published a description. NOAA notes that this careful work can take years after a voyage ends. A published account may include photographs and designate a holotype—the reference specimen for the species description—so other researchers can examine the basis for the identification. NOAA describes three black-coral species whose holotypes and photographs were collected on CAPSTONE expeditions and whose descriptions were published in Zootaxa by Dennis Opresko of the Smithsonian Institution and Daniel Wagner of Conservation International.
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Identification records can change, too. NOAA’s deepwater guide is periodically revised as experts report errors and taxonomic authorities update names. The name attached to an observation is therefore part of an evolving scientific record, not an unchangeable label.
A Puerto Rico expedition shows how methods work together
During an ROV expedition in Puerto Rico, researchers collected specimens considered possible new black corals, sponges, and a colonial tunicate, while also filtering water during dives for later eDNA analysis. The combination illustrates the distinct roles of observation, physical sampling, and molecular evidence: each adds information, but the potential-new-species label remains provisional until taxonomic work is complete.
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How much deep-sea life remains undocumented?
NOAA Ocean Exploration’s 2026 estimate puts the number of ocean species—mostly animals and excluding most microorganisms—at 700,000 to 1 million. It estimates that roughly two-thirds or more have yet to be discovered or officially described, and says almost 2,000 new species are accepted by the scientific community each year. These are broad estimates for the ocean as a whole, not counts for the deep sea alone.
In a separate 2026 announcement, NOAA reported more than 60,000 biological observations and nearly 400 biological samples across 34 ROV dives on three 2023 expeditions, plus 245 water samples for eDNA. Those figures describe the datasets in that announcement, not annual worldwide discovery totals. NOAA’s 2024 guide announcement, meanwhile, cited more than 3,000 identified deep-sea coral species—a coral-specific figure, not a count of all deep-sea life.
“Deep sea” also does not have one universal boundary in the cited taxonomic resources. The open World Register of Deep-Sea Species (WoRDSS) uses a sample-depth threshold greater than 500 m for inclusion in its database, while including some species also recorded in shallower water. That is a working database rule, not a universal definition.
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Where to explore identifications and expedition records
- NOAA’s Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide provides expert-informed identifications, in-situ images, and links to dive records; NOAA periodically updates it as errors and taxonomic changes are reported.
- NOAA’s 2026 data-release announcement explains how expedition observations and sample information are being made available through biodiversity databases.
- WoRDSS offers taxonomic information, imagery, and identification references; its depth criterion applies to that database rather than defining the deep sea for all purposes.
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