Dozens of new species, including 'death ball' sponge, discovered in Southern Ocean

Ocean scientists have found dozens of new species in one of the most remote parts of the world -- the bottom of the Southern Ocean. Earlier this year, marine biologists embarked on an expedition aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel "R/V Falkor (too)" to search for new species in the South Sandwich Islands. The team collected nearly 2,000 specimens across 14 animal groups and discovered 30 new species, according to the Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census -- the institution behind the expedition Among the never-before-seen marine life they found is a carnivorous "death ball" sponge -- dubbed Chondrocladia sp nov. The sponge is spherical in shape and is covered in tiny hooks that trap prey, the marine researchers said. Most sponges feed in a "gentle, passive" filter-feeding