Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide, Version 4
Note for users of the Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide, Version 3: This guide has been rebuilt on a database and is now available as an enhanced web application with a dedicated landing page and a search function. The navigation by taxa remains the same, but the location legend no longer applies.
The Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide is a collection of in situ images of marine animals created from seafloor video taken during expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer using cameras on remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer. This guide has become a popular and trusted ocean science community resource and is used (and contributed to) by ocean scientists around the world to help identify deepwater animals seen during underwater vehicle dives. It’s also being used to train artificial intelligence to automate animal detection in underwater video, educate the next generation of ocean scientists, and generate ocean interest among the public.
Example of an image in the Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide user interface and associated information. This sponge (Advhena magnifica), nicknamed "E.T. sponge" because of its resemblance to the alien from the movie E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, was unknown to science until this individual was collected during the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas and then formally described and named Advhena magnifica (meaning "magnificent alien").
As of January 2024, this guide includes marine animals seen during the following:
- Expeditions in the North and South Pacific during the Campaign to Address Pacific monument Science, Technology, and Ocean NEeds (CAPSTONE).
- An expedition to the New England Seamounts and along the North American continental margin during the Atlantic Seafloor Partnership for Integrated Research and Exploration (ASPIRE) campaign.
To aid animal identification, images are organized by major taxa and searchable by keyword, depth, and location. Information for each animal, to the extent known, includes taxonomic name (phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species — following the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) taxonomic classification); location of observation (latitude and longitude, depth, ocean, region, locality — e.g., seafloor feature); temperature, salinity, and oxygen content at the time and location of observation; and a link to the landing page of the dive during which it was seen.
Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide user interface.
This guide is based on input from taxonomic experts who specialize in deepwater animals. Identifications were made during live ROV dives as well as after, following close examination of images as well as collected samples.
This guide will continue to be enhanced and expanded upon, with new functionalities and new images, including images from other parts of the global ocean. Identifications will be updated on a periodic basis to correct errors reported by experts and reflect taxonomic revisions and new descriptions accepted in WoRMS. To report errors or provide feedback on or input to this guide, email NOAA Ocean Exploration’s Data Management Team at oer.info.mgmt@noaa.gov.
Images are also available for download by ocean basin along with an associated .csv file.
Suggested citation: NOAA Ocean Exploration. 2024. NOAA Ocean Exploration Benthic Deepwater Animal Identification Guide, Version 4. NOAA Ocean Exploration. Web application. https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/animal_guide/animal_guide.html. Accessed January 31, 2024
Acknowledgements
NOAA Ocean Exploration thanks the following experts for their contributions to this guide:
Online Development (Version 4)
- Barry Eakins — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | University of Colorado Boulder
- Andrew Navard — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | General Dynamics Information Technology
- David Moffitt — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | Mississippi State University
- Lenny Collazo — NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | General Dynamics Information Technology
- Ashley Marranzino — NOAA Ocean Exploration | University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
Taxonomic Identification*
Annelids
- Karen Osborn, Ph.D. — National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian)
- Harlan K. Dean, Ph.D. — Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Arthropods
- Mary Wicksten, Ph.D. — Texas A&M University
- Enrique Macpherson, Ph.D. — Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CSIC)
- Keiji Baba, Ph.D. — Kumamoto University
- Carol Hickman, Ph.D. — University of California, Berkeley
- Bob Van Syoc, Ph.D. — California Academy of Sciences
- Buz Wilson, Ph.D. — Saugatuck Natural History Laboratory
- Tom Hansknecht — Barry Vittor and Associates, Inc.
- Marina Malyutina, Ph.D. — Russian Academy of Sciences
- Chris Boyko, Ph.D. — American Museum of Natural History
Cnidarians
- Scott France, Ph.D. — University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Les Watling, Ph.D. — University of Hawai‘i
- Tina Molodtsova, Ph.D. — P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
- Steven Cairns, Ph.D. — National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian)
- Dennis Opresko, Ph.D. — Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Asako Matsumoto, Ph.D. — Chiba Institute of Technology
- Nadya Sanamyan, Ph.D. — Kamchatka Branch of Pacific Institute of Geography
- Daniel Wagner, Ph.D. — NOAA Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument
- Amy Baco-Taylor, Ph.D. — Florida State University
- Allen Collins, Ph.D. — National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian)
- Phil Alderslade, Ph.D. — Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
- Estefania Rodriguez, Ph.D. — American Museum of Natural History
- Abby LaPointe — University of Hawai‘i
- Jaymes Awbrey — University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Upasana Ganguly — University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Gary Williams, Ph.D. — California Academy of Sciences
- Allen Collins, Ph.D. — National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian)
- Cathy McFadden, Ph.D. — Harvey Mudd College
- Dhugal Lindsay, Ph.D. — Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
- Steven Auscavitch, Ph.D. — Boston University
Echinoderms
- Christopher Mah, Ph.D. — National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian)
- Andrey Gebruk, Ph.D. — P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
- Charles Messing, Ph.D. — Nova Southeastern University
- Richard Mooi, Ph.D. — California Academy of Sciences
- David Pawson, Ph.D. — National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian)
- Tina Molodtsova, Ph.D. — P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
- Alexander Mironov, Ph.D. — P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
- Doug Eenisse, Ph.D. — University of California, Santa Cruz
- Marc Eleaume, Ph.D. — Muséum National D’Histoire Naturelle
- Michel Roux, Ph.D. — Muséum National D’Histoire Naturelle
- Tim O’Hara, Ph.D. — Museum Victoria
Other Invertebrates
- Karen Sanamyan, Ph.D. — Kamchatka Branch of Pacific Institute of Geography
- Pamela Neubert, Ph.D. — Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Jessica Goodheart, Ph.D. — National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian)
- Robert Moffitt — NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
- Claudia Mills, Ph.D. — University of Washington
- Erik V. Thuesen, Ph.D. — The Evergreen State College
- Michael Vecchione, Ph.D. — National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian)
- George Matsumoto, Ph.D. — Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)
- Kevin Kocot, Ph.D. — University of Alabama
- Terry Gosliner, Ph.D. — California Academy of Sciences
- Julia Sigwart, Ph.D. — Queen’s University Belfast
- Matthew R. Jones, Ph.D. — Auckland University of Technology
- Carole Hickman, Ph.D. — University of California, Ph.D. — Berkeley
- Meagan McCuller, Ph.D. — North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Sponges
- Konstantin Tabachnick, Ph.D. — P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
- Henry Reiswig, Ph.D. — University of Victoria
- Rob van Soest, Ph.D. — Naturalis Biodiversity Center
- Christopher Kelley, Ph.D. — University of Hawai‘i
- Javier Murillo-Perez, Ph.D. — Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Curtis Dinn — Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Shirley Pomponi, Ph.D. — Florida Atlantic University
- Joanna Xavier, Ph.D. — University of Porto
- Paco Cardenas, Ph.D. — Uppsala University
Fishes
- Bruce Mundy — NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
- Kenneth Sulak, Ph.D. — United States Geological Survey
- Jorgen Nielsen, Ph.D. — University of Copenhagen
- Tomio Iwamoto, Ph.D. — California Academy of Sciences
- John McCosker, Ph.D. — California Academy of Sciences
- Andrea Quattrini, Ph.D. — Harvey Mudd College
- Dominique Didier, Ph.D. — Millersville University
- David Ebert, Ph.D. — Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
- Mackenzie Gerringer, Ph.D. — University of Hawai‘i
- Astrid Leitner, Ph.D. — University of Hawai‘i
- Peter Møller, Ph.D. — Natural History Museum of Denmark
- Werner Schwarzhans, Ph.D. — University of Copenhagen
- David Smith, Ph.D. — U.S. National Museum of Natural History
- Hsuan Ching (Hans) Ho, Ph.D. — National Dong Hwa University
- Jeff Drazen, Ph.D. — University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
- Hiroyuki Motomura, Ph.D. — The Kagoshima University Museum
- Kyoji Fujiwara, Ph.D. — Kagoshima University
- Yoshiaki Kai, Ph.D. — Kyoto University
- Nozomu Muto, Ph.D. — Tokai University
NOAA Ocean Exploration also thanks Virginia Moriwake, Sarah Bingo, and Meagan Putts, University of Hawai‘i, for assisting Christopher Kelley with the significant amount of work involved in developing early versions of this guide.
*Affiliations are based on when contributions were made to the guide and may have since changed.
Published January 31, 2024
Updated April 11, 2024