Census of Marine Life: Wild and Wonderful Creatures

The Census of Marine Life - a ten-year effort by scientists from around the world to answer the age-old question, “What lives in the sea?” It was an international effort to asses the diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine life that lives in our ocean, and the project offically concluded in October 2010.  

Browse a small sampling of the amazing marine life documented by Census scientists in this photo slideshow.  You can learn more about the ambitious survey in the book, Citizens of the Sea: Wondrous Creatures from the Census of Marine Life. 

See more marine life and biodiversity in a photo slideshow of marine species at risk and watch a video to learn about how scientists are gathering vast amounts of ecological information to build a catelog of life on the island of Moorea.

Tags: 
New discoveries, Biodiversity

Dragonfish from Australia

Deep-sea species like this dragonfish collected near Australia live in cold, dark waters and may go weeks or months between meals.

Credit: Dr. Julian Finn, Museum Victoria

Purple Sea Star

This bright purple sea star is a new species found by the Census of Coral Reef Ecosystems, a project of the Census of Marine Life.

Credit: Gustav Paulay, Florida Museum of Natural History

Sargassum fish from the Waters of South Korea

The sargassum fish typically lives in open waters near floating patches of sargassum seaweed, which offer camouflage.

Credit: Dr. Sung Kim

The Squidworm - A New Species

The squidworm (Teuthidodrilus samae), a swimming polychaete, was first discovered by Census of Marine Life researchers in the Celebes Sea at about 2800 meter depth in 2007.

Credit: L. Madin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst. (WHOI) (www.cmarz.org)

Spider Conch from China

This beautiful spider conch was collected by Census of Marine Life scientists conducting research near China.

Credit: Dr. Julian Finn, Museum Victoria

Arctic Sea Cucumber

A new species of sea cucumber from the Arctic discovered by Census of Marine Life researchers.

Credit: Antonina Rogacheva, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Moscow

Zombie Worms Eating Whale Bone

Zombie worms eat away at the bones of a dead whale that has fallen to the seafloor in Sagami Bay, Japan.

Credit: Yoshihiro Fujiwara/JAMSTEC

Deep Water Octopus in the Gulf of Mexico

A brilliant red octopus photographed at more than 8,800 feet (about 2,700 meters) in the Gulf of Mexico.

Credit: I. MacDonald (in Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Vol. 1. Biodiversity. Felder, D. L. and Camp, D. K. (eds.) 2009. Texas A&M Press.)

Atolla Jellyfish from the Waters of Japan

This deep-sea jellyfish was caught on film by an ROV east of Izu-Oshina Island, Japan.

Credit: JAMSTEC

Venus Fly-Trap Anemone in the Gulf of Mexico

This elegant Venus fly-trap anemone was photographed in the Gulf of Mexico at roughly 4,900 feet (1500 meters).

Credit: I. MacDonald (in Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Vol. 1. Biodiversity. Felder, D. L. and Camp, D. K. (eds.) 2009. Texas A&M Press.)

Transparent Sea Cucumber

Census researchers discovered this sea cucumber (Enypniastes sp.) in the Gulf of Mexico.

Credit: Laurence Madin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/CMarZ, Census of Marine Life

Comments

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

hello great pics

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

This is amazing. Do invertebrates rule the world?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

the first one was weird but the rest was cool and i liked it!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

THIS IS THE BAST POWER POINT EVER IT TELLS ALOT ABOUT OCEAN LIFE

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Thanks for studying and let us know a little of marine life
when we understand the process of living beings we understand a little more about human history and ourselves

Subm by Rosely 16 Set 2010

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

The pictures are extremely interesting. Even now they still catch my eye.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

amazing and really mesmarising wonderful sea picture taken at the risk of life by the dedicated indomitable spirits.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I find these pictures truely amazing, and i cant wait till i finish my degrees in biology and marine biology so i can get out there and study these strange and beautiful creatures. if you have any info on what i need to do to get in this field please let me know.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Really good pic the dragonfish seems like a fun species to learn about :)

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

OMG! These types of marine life are gross, but yet unusual and interesting. I am doing a project on this and it is very useful.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

Wow these discoveries are amazing! That jellyfish was pretty cool!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on

I love these pics! when I am older I would like to become a marine biologist and discover things like these. I am in Fifth grade and these are truly weird but cool. i love these!

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