50,000 undiscovered New Zealanders

29 June 2007

50,000 undiscovered New Zealanders

Hidden treasures of the sea: watery depths home to 50,000 undiscovered New Zealanders, say leading marine scientists

Last night, some of New Zealand's leading marine scientists revealed they believe there are 50,000 New Zealand sea creatures yet to be discovered - including five- and six-meter whales.

The revelations came from NIWA and Te Papa marine scientists at an event held by WWF-New Zealand at Te Papa for the launch its new online guide to life in New Zealand's oceans - The Treasures of the Sea: Ng* Taonga a Tangaroa at www.wwf.org.nz/treasuresofthesea. The new online resource is a species-group based guide to the 15,000 species that have already been discovered in New Zealand's marine environment - from albatross to zooplankton.

Speaking at the WWF event, NIWA's Dr Don Robertson said that The Treasures of the Sea showed that we have much to learn about the globally significant biodiversity of New Zealand waters:

"We know we have around 15,000 species both described or curated but undescribed. Dr Dennis Gordon (of NIWA) has estimated that there are possibly around 50,000 more marine species waiting to be discovered and described. And of these 15,000, around 40% appear to be endemic to the New Zealand region, either described or known. Almost all of our knowledge of the New Zealand marine life comes from the shallower fringes of what is the most typical habitat on the planet, the 4000 m deep abyssal ocean plains. And oceans around New Zealand go a lot deeper - down to 11 km deep in the Kermadec Trench."

Te Papa's whale expert and marine mammal collection manager Anton van Helden said it was highly likely the 50,000 unknown inhabitants of New Zealand oceans includes species of whales that humans have yet to discover:

"Let me put it this way, we have a beaked whale here in New Zealand, the spade toothed whale, and we only know of its existence from two beach-worn skulls and a lower jaw bone with two tusk teeth. No one has ever seen a spade toothed whale alive. So it's likely that there are whales swimming in New Zealand waters that have yet to be discovered. And of those that are known to science, our knowledge is often based on such a small number of samples that we still are just scratching the surface in terms of understanding those we know exist.

"I think the remarkable thing is these are animals are 5-6m long that have to come to the surface of the ocean to breathe and yet some we have never seen alive. These are not microscopic animals living on the ocean floor...If you think how little we do not know about the big things, then clearly there are a lot of other species out there to be discovered."

At the launch, WWF-New Zealand reiterated its call for a national network of marine protected areas. Commenting today, Chris Howe, Executive Director at WWF-New Zealand said: "It's inspiring that we still have so much to discover about New Zealand's amazing and unique ocean life. It brings home just how critical it is to protect what we have here in New Zealand - not just for those creatures like Maui's dolphin which we know human activity is pushing to the brink of extinction, but also to act as guardians for those creatures we have yet to discover."

The Treasures of the Sea: Ng* Taonga a Tangaroa is a species-group by species-group guide to New Zealand's marine life - from the bizarre feeding habits of the straptoothed whale, to the divorce rate of (usually) monogamous albatross. The leading marine scientists on New Zealand's biodiversity have pooled their knowledge to create the new online resource, which was edited by NIWA Prinicipal Scientist Dr Alison MacDiarmid.

The new microsite at www.wwf.org.nz/treasuresofthesea goes live on Friday 29 June, after an official preview launch event at Te Papa on Thursday 28 June for the marine science community of New Zealand. At the event, WWF-New Zealand reiterated its call for a national network of marine reserves, which the global conservation organisation says is vital to protecting New Zealand's unique marine biodiversity, much of which is under threat from human activity.

New Zealand's ocean is a globally significant hotspot of marine biodiversity and home to some of the world's weirdest sea creatures - from the world's largest spiny lobster to the strap-toothed whale, which is believed to catch its prey using suction. Nearly half (44 per cent) of New Zealand marine life exists nowhere else on the blue planet but here in Aotearoa - and new species are being discovered all the time. But until WWF-New Zealand commissioned NIWA to create The Treasures of the Sea, the scientific information wasn't easily accessible. www.wwf.org.nz/treasuresofthesea gives free and instant access to what is known about the treasures of our seas.

ENDS

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