New species found in Australia

MARINE scientists have discovered hundreds of new animal species on reefs in Australian waters, including brilliant soft corals and tiny crustaceans, according to findings released on Thursday.

The creatures were found during expeditions run by the Australian chapter of CReefs, a global census of coral reefs that is one of several projects of the Census of Marine Life, an international effort to catalogue all life in the oceans.

“People have been working at these places for a long time and still there are literally hundreds and hundreds of new species that no one has ever collected or described,” said Julian Caley, a scientist from the Australian Institute of Marine Science who is helping to lead the research.