Researchers taking part in the Ocean Census report discovering more than 1,000 new marine species over the past year. The findings include unusual organisms such as a meat-eating “death ball” described as having hook-like features, and translucent “ghost sharks.” The work is supported by the Nippon Foundation, a major Japanese philanthropic organization, and by Nekton, an Oxford-based charity. The Ocean Census initiative uses scientific expeditions to document marine biodiversity, including species that are difficult to observe or previously unknown to science. Across the sources provided, the emphasis is on the scale of the new discoveries and on representative examples of the variety of marine life identified during the year. The reports do not include additional details such as the locations of the discoveries, the methods used to collect specimens, or which research teams were involved beyond the listed backers. Overall, the story presents the new species count and highlights notable examples from the broader set of findings reported by the programme.