Resolution criteria

This market resolves to YES if at least one new species of fish (including jawless fishes, cartilaginous fishes, and bony fishes) is formally described in a peer-reviewed scientific journal with an official publication or online-early date in June 2026, or cataloged as a newly described species in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes.

Otherwise, this market resolves to NO.

Key details:

• "New species" refers to a newly discovered and taxonomically described species previously unknown to science. Taxonomic reclassifications of existing species (e.g., splitting an existing species or elevating a subspecies to species level) do not count unless a brand-new species name is established and described.

• The publication date of the peer-reviewed paper describing the species must fall between June 1, 2026, and June 30, 2026, inclusive.

• Media announcements of "newly found" species from expeditions do not count unless the formal peer-reviewed taxonomic description is published within the June 2026 window.

Background

Taxonomists routinely discover and describe hundreds of new fish species each year. Authoritative databases like Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes at the California Academy of Sciences track these additions on an ongoing basis. In addition to individual researcher efforts, collaborative international projects like the Ocean Census actively fund deep-sea expeditions that systematically catalog thousands of previously unknown marine species, including newly identified fish, rays, and sharks.

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