Scientists Find Nearly 100 New Species During Deep-Sea Exploration
Scientists searching the under-explored Bounty Trough in New Zealand announced that they’ve discovered 100 species of ocean life that are either new or potentially new. New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) announced the miraculous findings, which include three new species of fish, on Tuesday.
“We’ve gone to lots of different habitats and discovered a whole range of new species,” said NIWA marine biologist and voyage co-leader Sadie Mills, “from fish to snails, to corals and sea cucumbers—really interesting species that are going to be new to science.”
Scientists examined more than 1,800 species in total, of which 100 were either new or potentially new.
NIWA / Ocean Census
The three-week expedition was conducted on the NIWA’s research vessel in collaboration with Ocean Census. Experts from Australia and the U.K. converged in New Zealand with scientists from the NIWA and the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum to collect more than 1,800 samples from depths of nearly 16,000 feet.
Alex Rodgers, the director of Ocean Census, said he was startled at just how many species the relatively short expedition uncovered. “By the time all our specimens are examined, we will be north of 100 new species,” he marveled. “But what’s really surprised me here is the fact this extends to animals like fish—we think we’ve got three new species of fish.”
One of the fish species was determined to be an eelpout, while the other two are still awaiting identification.
In addition to the fish, other new species include dozens of mollusks, a cephalopod, a shrimp, and a new type of corral.
One of three new species of fish discovered. Scientists believe this one to be an eelpout. The remaining two species have yet to be identified.
NIWA / Ocean Census
A new species of shrimp discovered by scientists.
NIWA / Ocean Census
A deep sea squid.
NIWA / Ocean Census
Scientists have been somewhat baffled by one of the findings, however. A mysterious star-shaped creature that experts originally thought was either a seastar, an anemone, or a zoanthid-type animal is, in fact, none of those things.
“We now think it could be a new species of octocoral, but also a new genus [a wider grouping of species],” said Queensland Museum Network Taxonomist Michela Mitchell. “Even more excitingly, it could be a whole new group outside of the octocoral. If it is, that is a significant find for the deep sea and gives us a much clearer picture of the planet’s unique biodiversity.”
Two mystery specimens were collected, which scientists believe to be a potential new species of octocoral, or a whole other new group entirely.
NIWA / Ocean Census
For the next three weeks, scientists at the NIWA and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa will be working to identify the rest of the mystery species. They will then be added to the New Zealand Marine Biota NIWA Biodiversity Memoir, which contains all 18,494 known species in the country. After they’re properly identified, the new species will be made available for public viewing at the NIWA’s Invertebrate Collection at the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum.
