Scientists have identified 57 marine species and five genera new to science after examining deep-sea specimens from Argentina’s submarine canyons, DIVE Magazine reported. The findings came from a two-week workshop in Buenos Aires.

The Species Discovery Workshop brought together 20 taxonomists and early-career researchers from Latin America and Europe. It was led by the Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census with the Schmidt Ocean Institute and Argentina’s CONICET.

The tally includes 20 new copepod species, 22 echinoderms such as sea cucumbers and crinoids, 14 cnidarians including octocorals and sea pens, and one scaphopod mollusc.

Most specimens came from the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s 2025 Underwater Oases expedition to the Mar del Plata Canyon, nearly twice as deep as the Grand Canyon. The remotely operated vehicle SuBastian collected the samples.

One standout is a horned sea cucumber nicknamed “Loki the Sea Cucumber”, named for its horn-like appendages. “International cooperation in taxonomy is critical,” said CONICET principal investigator Daniel Lauretta, noting the workshop also trained young local taxonomists.