Seas around Australia and Japan have most forms of life.

A "ROLL call" of marine species has identified Australian and Japanese waters as the most biodiverse on Earth.

Each ocean zone contains an estimated 33,000 known forms of life, ranging from algae and single-celled protozoa to whales and sea birds.

The Mediterranean was also listed as a hotspot for different kinds of species by Census of Marine Life (CoML) scientists who surveyed 25 key marine regions.

Waters around popular holiday resorts in southern Europe were in the top five of the biodiversity league table, along with oceans off China and the Gulf of Mexico.

However the Mediterranean was also one of the areas where biodiversity was most threatened.

On average, the number of known species per region totalled 10,750, ranging from 2,600 to 33,000. But for every marine species of all kinds known to science, experts estimate that at least four are yet to be discovered.

Fish made up only 12% of the marine species identified in the round-up, described in a series of papers in the online journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) ONE.

Crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters and prawns were the most abundant forms of life, making up around a fifth of species in any given region.

The "roll call" was published in the run-up to the long-awaited final report from the Census of Marine Life in October.

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The dragonfish is one of the many varied species of fish found in the Pacific Ocean

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Publication:	Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales)
Date:	Aug 3, 2010
Words:	243
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