On 23 March 2018, a team of 31 scientists and representatives from Indonesia and Singapore set sail from the port of Muara Baru, in Jakarta, for a deep-sea expedition. Over the next two weeks, they surveyed the unexplored depths off the southern coast of Java, collecting more than 12,000 specimens from 8,000 species. To date, these findings have yielded no less than one new genus (a new group of animals), 27 new species and over 260 new records for Indonesia.

To commemorate this special day, read the latest Raffles Bulletin of Zoology supplement that compiles research findings from the expedition!

Over three years in the making, and including 27 articles by various scientists and members of the crew, the volume presents some of the sea creatures collected on the voyage. Take a look at these weird and wonderful denizens of the deep, including a new sponge, hermit and spider crab species!

To Dr Bertrand Richer de Forges, renowned marine biologist and expedition consultant, expeditions such as this offer mere glimpses into the vast biodiversity of the deep seas. He urges, “new generations of marine biologists have to know that deep-sea marine life is fascinating, very rich in species and very unknown. It is necessary to study it to be able to protect and conserve this heritage common to humankind.”