Most Ocean Species Remain Undiscovered

Yahoo ^ | 11/15/12 | Tia Ghose | LiveScience.com

[NormsRevenge]

Up to a million species live in the seas, and two-thirds of those ocean-dwellers may still be undiscovered, according to a new study that also cataloged all of the known species that dwell beneath the waves.

The findings, published today (Nov. 15) in the journal Current Biology, suggest that the oceans remain a vast, uncharted territory. The new registry could help guide marine conservation efforts by giving scientists a universal way to describe the underwater creatures.

"If you want to understand life on Earth, then of course you need to know what life there is on Earth," said the study's lead author, Ward Appeltans, a member of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). "If you want to protect the ocean you need to know what you want to protect."

Appeltans began assembling a European list of sea life in 1999. In 2007, his team decided to expand the effort to encompass all of the world's marine species. [Images: Catalog of Strange Sea Creatures]

It was a massive undertaking. Appeltans and colleagues contacted more than 250 world experts on marine life to catalog all known species.

"When there's a child that's born you need to go to city hall and register the name of the baby, but when you create a new species the only thing you need to do is publish a paper in an official journal," Appeltans told OurAmazingPlanet.

As a result, many species names were duplicated.

"For every five species that were described, two were described before," he said.

[Salamander]

/quietly pounds head on table, filled with regret for even mentioning them

[shibumi]

Look!

A Rote Lippen Schwimmenmaus!

[zencycler]

Once, when i when I was at a beach in the Mediterraneann, I stepped on one of those, got stung, and it almost killed me - the dreaded stone-faced Helenathomasfish.

[Adder]

ai-EEEEEE

THE KRAKEN!!!!!!!!!!