Old cockles and record number of shells at the eighth edition of the Big Seashell Survey

The eighth edition of the Big Seashell Survey was a record-breaking event. No fewer than 3,500 participants scoured 400 km of coastline in northern France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, collecting and identifying nearly 150,000 shells from 72 different species. This year, the differences between the three countries were less pronounced, with the cut trough shell ranking as the most frequently found species across all regions. The Atlantic jackknife clam, the banded wedge shell, and the common cockle consistently appeared in the top five. A one-time focus on the cockle in Belgium revealed that most of these shells originated in a distant past, with only a handful of live populations remaining in the shallow continental North Sea.

Applications for the Ocean Census Species Discovery Awards 2025 are open

Thanks to the contribution of The Nippon Foundation, the Ocean Census is offering financial awards of $5,000 to $20,000 to support marine species discovery around the world.

IMARPE presents the Peruvian Register of Marine Species platform

This verified database groups the marine species recorded from Peru.

WoRMS press release: Ten remarkable new marine species from 2024

As for previous years, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) has again released its annual list of the top-ten marine species described by researchers during the past year to coincide with World Taxonomist Appreciation Day on March 19th!