Transparent sea cucumbers, bowl-shaped sponges, and pink sea pigs are some of the fascinating animals discovered during a deep-sea expedition to th

Unknown species discovered on deep-sea expedition

submited by

Style Pass

2024-06-07 15:30:11

Transparent sea cucumbers, bowl-shaped sponges, and pink sea pigs are some of the fascinating animals discovered during a deep-sea expedition to the Pacific Ocean.

In March, a 45-day research expedition to the Clarion Clipperton Zone between Mexico and Hawaii in the eastern Pacific Ocean came to a close. One of the scientists on board the British research vessel James Cook was Thomas Dahlgren, a marine ecologist from the University of Gothenburg and the NORCE research institute.

“These areas are the Earth’s least explored. It’s estimated that only one out of ten animal species living down here has been described by science,” he says.

The area studied is a part of the Abyssal Plains, which are deep-sea areas at depths of 3 500 to 5 500 metres. Although they make up more than half of the Earth's surface, there’s very little known about their fascinating animal life.

“This is one of very few cases where researchers can be involved in discovering new species and ecosystems in the same way as they did in the 18th century. It’s very exciting,” says Thomas Dahlgren.