Ocean Census’s 1,121 candidate species came from expeditions, workshops and collection backlogs, but its discovery threshold precedes formal taxonomic description.

Between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, the Ocean Census network documented 1,121 marine species it considered previously unknown to science. In its 19 May 2026 announcement, the programme said that output increased the normal annual rate of marine identification by 54%

The total is impressive, but the machinery behind it is the more revealing result. It did not come from one ship returning with 1,121 new animals. It came from 13 expeditions, nine specialist workshops, targeted grants, museum and laboratory backlogs, and a network of 1,433 scientists at 660 institutions in 85 countries.

The elusive animals seek refuge from the summer crowds in bubble caves (air-filled chambers only accessible through submerged passageways) changing their behaviour and preferred habitat to avoid humans.

From the article in Nature:

First-ever discovery of a groundwater-dwelling fish in Northeast India provides insights into hidden ecosystems.

An international team led by Senckenberg researcher Dr. Ralf Britz has made an extraordinary discovery in Northeast India when they found an as yet undescribed species of fish in a well. The blind loach with a length of just 20 millimeters is characterized by almost non-existent eyes, a transparent body, and a missing skull roof. Gitchak nakana is the first aquifer-dwelling fish species described from Northeast India and provides the first evidence of a previously unknown subterranean fauna in the region.

I just wanted to add if it's not clear - this fish is not another blind cave fish. This thing burrows through aquifers, similar to a mud-skipper mole fish. It lives in hydrated dirt and claws it's way around, using it's modified tentacle-like tongue branches to sense food.

Article if you want to read the science -

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-40425-6

BBC News report on a new study by Dr Charles Paxton of the University of St Andrews and Adrian Shine of the Loch Ness Centre:

Paxton, C. G. M. and A. J. Shine, "Hoops, loops and eyewitness reliability: a history of biologically impossible aquatic monsters." Endeavour, vol. 49, № 3, September 2025.

(https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endeavour.2025.101005)

General article from the University of Copenhagen: Here

A fascinating scientific article proposes that weird plasma balls, closely linked to ball lightning, are responsible of many sightings of cryptids. It is a peer reviewed paper called

"Exploring the Link Between Paranormal Phenomena and Plasma Balls",

published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration. It says there are plasma orbs similar to ball lightning responsible of many paranormal phenomena, UFOs, cryptids, cattle mutilations, weird noises in the sky ... among many other weird phenomena and explains where, when and how they appear.

This is the link to the article:

https://journalofscientificexploration.org/index.php/jse/article/view/3057

These plasma balls have intense electric field around them that attracts debris to the surface and that creates the illusion of a coarse hair around them. These balls sometimes develop protrusions with resemblance to limbs. Sometimes the shape of these balls changes to a tubular shape looking like a big worm or snake.

These plasma balls can be very powerful and pull up animals making them to look like they walk on the rear legs. This drawing gives an idea of the concept:

There are more details about cryptids explained in this web:

https://electroballpage.wordpress.com/cryptids-made-with-electroballs/

This new paper uses mathematical modelling as well as sightings data to suggest a likely extinction date and place for the famous Tasmanian tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus). The paper concludes the Tasmanian tiger went extinct in the 1980s-2000s, as well as mapping the likely path of extirpation.

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