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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesScientists usually discover a possible new deep-sea species by spotting it on remotely operated vehicle (ROV) video or collecting it during an expedition. Neither a striking image nor a genetic signal alone proves that a species is new. Specialists compare evidence with known species, examine specimens closely when available, and publish a formal description only after the analysis is complete—a process that can take years.
How does a possible new species first come to light?
Research vessels send ROVs into the deep ocean to film animals on the seafloor. Researchers record what appears in the video and connect observations to details such as location and depth, along with environmental measurements when available. 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.
An unfamiliar-looking animal is a lead, not a new-species verdict. Video may not reveal the small features needed to distinguish one species from another, so scientists treat such sightings as candidates for further study. NOAA’s guide includes more than 3,000 identified deep-sea coral species, a figure specific to corals rather than all deep-sea life.
Why collect a specimen?
A specimen lets taxonomists examine anatomy directly, document diagnostic structures, and preserve material for further analysis. NOAA puts the practical point plainly: “Species-level identification of unique organisms can usually only be made when a biological sample is collected and brought back to the lab.” Collection is not always possible or justified, but a camera image may not show enough to support a unique identification.
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When collection is warranted, an ROV can use tools and sample containers to retrieve biological material. On board, researchers label and photograph samples, record taxonomic features and scale, and choose preservation methods suited to later morphological or genetic work. NOAA notes that shipboard processing can take more than 24 hours, depending on the number and types of samples.
How do scientists decide whether it is a new species?
Compare physical features with known species
Taxonomists compare a specimen’s defining physical features with descriptions of species already known to science. Microscopes can reveal structures too small to assess in ROV footage or with the unaided eye. In its account of black-coral research, NOAA explains that samples must be collected and examined closely under a microscope to determine whether a species is new.
Add genetic evidence when it helps
DNA barcoding can help resolve uncertain identifications, including cases involving damaged specimens, hard-to-distinguish relatives, or different life stages. In a 2012 example described by NOAA, barcode evidence linked the larval crustacean Cerataspis monstrosa with the deep-sea shrimp Plesiopenaeus armatus.
Environmental DNA, or eDNA, is genetic material recovered from water rather than from a visible animal. Researchers can collect and filter water, sequence the recovered DNA, and assign sequences to taxonomic names. NOAA describes eDNA as a way to detect genetic traces without seeing or collecting the organism itself. It is a complementary survey and identification signal, not a substitute for the full evidence and formal description required to establish a new species.
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What does each kind of evidence contribute?
| Evidence | What it can show | What it cannot establish on its own |
|---|---|---|
| ROV imagery | An organism in its habitat, with an associated observation such as location and depth. | Small diagnostic details may not be visible, so an unfamiliar appearance is not proof of a new species. |
| Collected specimen | Direct examination of anatomy and, where suitable, material for genetic analysis. | Collection alone does not establish novelty; specialists must compare the evidence with known species. |
| DNA barcoding | Genetic evidence that can help distinguish uncertain identifications or connect life stages. | A genetic result needs careful interpretation alongside taxonomic evidence. |
| Water eDNA | Genetic traces that can indicate organisms were present even when no animal was seen. | A detected sequence is not, by itself, a formal new-species description. |
What does the process look like on an expedition?
A Puerto Rico ROV expedition reported by NOAA collected specimens considered possible new black corals, sponges, and a colonial tunicate. The team also filtered water during dives for later eDNA analysis. The combination illustrates how visual exploration, specimen collection, and molecular sampling can support different parts of the investigation; the possible-new status remains tentative until taxonomic work is finished.
There are confirmed outcomes, too. NOAA describes three black-coral species whose holotypes—the reference specimens for their names—were collected on CAPSTONE expeditions. Dennis Opresko of the Smithsonian Institution and Daniel Wagner of Conservation International published their descriptions in Zootaxa, with photographs documenting the species.
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When is a new species officially recognized?
The conclusion comes after specialist analysis and formal publication, not at the moment an ROV camera records an unfamiliar animal. NOAA reports that careful post-expedition analysis can take years before a new-species claim is published. A published description establishes the taxonomic case and documents the features experts use to recognize the species.
Identification resources are not frozen records: experts report errors, and taxonomic authorities revise names. NOAA’s guide is periodically updated as such changes are reported, so a later reader may find a corrected identification or revised name.
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How many species remain to be found?
NOAA Ocean Exploration’s 2026 estimate puts the ocean’s total at between 700,000 and 1 million species, mostly animals and excluding most microorganisms. NOAA 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 ocean-wide estimates, not counts specific to deep-sea species.
A separate NOAA 2026 data announcement reports 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 numbers describe the datasets in that announcement, not annual global discovery totals.
Where can readers explore deep-sea records?
NOAA’s Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide provides expert-informed entries and in-situ images, with links to dive records. NOAA’s 2026 biodiversity data announcement describes how expedition observations and sample information are being made available through biodiversity databases.
The World Register of Deep-Sea Species (WoRDSS) offers taxonomic information, imagery, and identification references. Its database uses sample depths greater than 500 metres as a working inclusion criterion; that is not a universal boundary for the deep sea, and the database includes some species also recorded in shallower water.
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