The bottom of the sea is home to a huge number of species, but interestingly, new research shows that there may be many more kinds of marine creatures that are yet to be discovered. The new study was conducted by the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom. It says that scientists have found around 30 new species that reside at the bottom of the ocean.
Researchers from the UK’s Natural History Museum used a remotely operated vehicle to collect specimens. They were collected from the abyssal plains of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the central Pacific. Previously, creatures from this area had been studied only from photographs.
The findings were published in the journal Zookeys. Notably, it states that the scientists found 48 different species during the course of their research.
About the species
The species found by the scientists included animals from the same families as centipedes as well as jellyfish, segmented worms, and a variety of different corals.
“This research is important not only due to the number of potentially new species discovered, but because these megafauna specimens have previously only been studied from seabed images. Without the specimens and the DNA data they hold, we cannot properly identify the animals and understand how many different species there are,” said Dr. Guadalupe Bribiesca-Contreras. He is the head author of the study and researcher at the Natural History Museum.
Thirty-six specimens were found more than 4,800 meters deep. Whereas two were collected on a seamount slope at 4,125 meters, and 17 were found at between 3,095 and 3,562 meters deep.
Impact of the findings
The implications of this finding are quite far-reaching. This is because it can actually limit the amount of sea mining being conducted at present. There are a number of companies that are looking to extract minerals from the seabed. However, that can stop if authorities believe that the processes are detrimental to the new-found species.
The other fascinating part of the research was the use of a remote-operated vehicle for the collection of data. Moreover, it was also able to navigate the entire area without any major issues.
