It’s a list that gets served up at the same time every year and the jewel in the crown of every taxonomist on the current taxonomy scene; a ‘new year’s honours list’ of sorts, of the most remarkable new marine species to be discovered from the year prior.

The Mystery Mollusc, the Divine Dragon Glistenworm, John Hooper’s Carnivorous Sponge, and the Chimera Mantis Shrimp; yes it may all read like a science-fiction Top Trumps but these are just four of what have now been officially recognised as the ‘most remarkable’ new marine species to have been named in 2024.

The annual list has been released to – once again – mark World Taxonomist Appreciation Day (March 19th) and doff the proverbial cap to the world’s population of taxonomists, working in labs, museums, or out in the field where they collect, catalogue, identify, compare, describe, and then name species new to science. 

The top ten list this year is just a small highlight of the some 2,000 new marine species discovered – on average – each year. But what are they, you ask – well leave you in suspense no longer, because that list – of the ten most remarkable new marine species from 2024 – is:

1. The Mystery Mollusc, Bathydevius caudactylus
2. The Divine Dragon Glistenworm, Chaetoderma shenloong
3. The Mimic Worm, Cryptochaetosyllis imitatio
4. The Freely Branched Pterobranch, Rhabdopleura emancipata
5. John Hooper’s Carniverous Sponge, Abyssocladia johnhooperi
6. The Ranma Tanaid, Apseudes ranma
7. Shimomura’s Bean-Shaped Isopod, Anthuroniscus shimomurai
8. Scripps Cousins Wood-Dwelling Seastar, Caymanostella scrippscognaticausa
9. The Paired-Lure Anglerfish, Gigantactis paresca
10. The Chimera Mantic Shrimp, Incertasquilla chimera

There were in fact over 3,200 marine species described throughout 2024 and added to the World Register of Marine Species (don’t worry, we won’t list them all), including some 610 fossil species – which certainly puts the work of those taxonomists in full perspective.

Yet, after some 250 years of describing, naming, and cataloguing the species we share our planet with, scientists remain some way off from achieving a full and complete census. 

The 2024 list was decided upon by a select committee of editors at the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and editors of major taxonomy journals from around the world, and posted openly to the WoRMS website and social media, giving everyone the opportunity to nominate their favourite marine species of the last year.

“The final decisions reflect the immense diversity of taxonomic groups in the marine environment (including crustaceans, corals, sponges, jellies, and worms) and highlight some of the challenges facing the marine environment today,” read a statement from the World Register of Marine Species. “The final candidates also feature some particularly astonishing marine creatures, notable for their interest to both science and the public.

“Each of these marine species has a story. This year, the chosen species cover the weird, the bewildering, and the astonishing. We feature, among others, a mystery mollusc, a worm mimicking a nudibranch, a branded pterobranch, and an anglerfish with two lures.”

WoRMS has recently partnered with Ocean Census to enhance the rapid discovery and identification of marine life and is a listed affiliate project with Marine Life 2030, which is endorsed as a UN Ocean Decade Programme.

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