Scientists have identified 57 new marine species from the depths off Argentina, including a ghostly sea cucumber nicknamed "Loki". The discoveries come from the Mar del Plata Canyon, explored by the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor and its ROV SuBastian in August 2025.

During a two-week workshop in Buenos Aires, taxonomists sorted through expedition samples and confirmed 57 new species plus five entirely new genera. The haul includes 20 new copepods, 22 echinoderms, 14 cnidarians and one scaphopod. Loki, the sea cucumber, was found at a depth of 2,577 metres.

The expedition's livestreams drew around four million viewers, turning deep-sea science into a public spectacle. Researchers say the canyon is a biodiversity hotspot that is still barely explored.

Each new species helps scientists understand how life survives in the deep ocean's cold, dark, high-pressure world — and what could be lost before it is even found. The team plans return expeditions to map more of the canyon's unexplored zones.

Sources: divemagazine.com; oceanographicmagazine.com.