uniladtech homepage
  • News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Over 100 never-before-seen species discovered along deep sea mountain range

Home> Science> News

Published 12:51 23 Feb 2024 GMT

Over 100 never-before-seen species discovered along deep sea mountain range

The incredible discoveries include a strange bony fish and a spiky lobster.

Prudence Wade

Prudence Wade

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

An underwater mountain range off the coast of Chile has offered up a veritable treasure trove of discoveries, including more than 100 entirely new species.

A series of recent expeditions took a far closer look at a mountain range deep underwater, some 1,800 miles long, called the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridge.

The Schmidt Ocean Institute expeditions used a robot to explore a selection of these underwater mountains at depths of 14,763 feet, and found incredible biodiversity.

Even more amazing, each mount apparently had a completely different ecosystem to the last, so the team found new species and inter-species relationships each time they looked.

The team was led by Dr Javier Sellanes, from the Universidad Católica del Norte, and he was unsurprisingly effusive about the discoveries: "We far exceeded our hopes on this expedition. You always expect to find new species in these remote and poorly explored areas, but the amount we found, especially for some groups like sponges, is mind-blowing".

Advert

While sponges might not sound that amazing, some of the footage and photos of the flora and fauna they found is absolutely breathtaking.

It encompasses fern-like coral formations that have fronds that almost look like leaves and an incredible number of urchins and spiny shells in different shapes and colors.

There are plenty of species that look pretty incredible, too, including an incredibly spiny almost spider-like lobster that the team found at 2,194 feet, and believes is a new species.

While some of the life observed were not new discoveries, they're nonetheless amazing to see, like a bright red Chaunax fish with a huge gaping mouth found down at 4,553 feet of depth.

One amazing photo shows this fish looking almost like it's clinging to a rock next to it, and its body shape has to be seen to be believed.

This series of finds won't be the end of the story - firstly, there's loads of testing to be done now to establish what is and isn't a new species, which can be quite complex.

Furthermore, the team of scientists hopes that this can be part of the wider conversation about conservation and protection. These mountains are in protected waters, but there's always room for more legislation and funding to help keep these marine environments safe from pollution.

Featured Image Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Science
World News

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

a day ago
  • NASA / Aubrey Gemignani
    a day ago

    Stranded astronaut Butch Wilmore reveals harrowing moment he thought he and Suni Williams were going to die in space

    Their mission turned into an unexpected nine-month stay

    Science
  • Kinga Krzeminska / Getty
    a day ago

    Symptoms to look out for as sexual act overtakes smoking as the leading cause of throat cancer in USA and UK

    It's now more common than cervical cancer in these two countries

    Science
  • Peter Cade / Getty
    a day ago

    Dentist reveals 'number one cause of cavities' and it's not sugar

    We still wouldn't recommend chugging all those cans of soda

    Science
  • Heritage Images / Contributor / Getty
    a day ago

    Archaeologists finally uncover location of Alexander the Great's ancient city after 2,000 years

    The city once linked major trade routes

    Science
  • Hackers create never-before-seen cyber weapon that has victims across the world
  • Mia Khalifa shares 'never-before-seen nudes' as she 'reclaims' her image after leaving adult industry
  • Horrifying 'zombie' spiders infected by never-before-seen fungus are taking over US homes
  • Never-before-seen footage shows world's most isolated tribe