Over 178 new species of fish and hundreds more new species of plants and other animals has been discovered by marine scientists in the past year, raising the number of life-forms found in the world's oceans to about 230,000.
Some 1,000 scientists in 70 countries participated in collecting valuable marine census, which included discoveries like a gold-speckled and red-striped goby fish, found in Guam's waters. Another surprise for biologists was a colony of rhodoliths (coral-like marine algae) found in Prince William Sound in Alaska.
This is the second consecutive year in which scientists have reported findings since the project began in May 2000. The part of the census dealing with microbes, the smallest organisms, is just starting.
So far, scientists have described 15,482 marine fish species, up from 15,304 a year ago. The number of animals and plants is up to about 214,500, several hundred more than last year, but scientists say they do not have an exact number for that.
So far, about $125 million has been spent on the census. Its price tag eventually is expected to reach $1 billion, most of it from participating governments.
