Scientists discovered 100 new species in the deep sea, know why they were surprised by their own discovery!
In today's time, when marine creatures are disappearing from the world's oceans, 21 scientists have discovered 100 new species. Which also includes a mysterious star-like creature. These creatures have been found on the 800-kilometer-long Bounty Trough which is located off the coast of New Zealand to the east of the South Island. Scientists started their mission in February and found these species in three weeks. Let us tell you that these species have been found in the deep sea.
Deep Sea is broadly known as the depth where there is less light from about 200 meters below the surface and up to thousands of meters below the surface. The team collected approximately 18,000 samples from a depth of 3 miles (4,800 meters), which included species of fish, squid, molluscs and coral. Scientists believe that they are new to science. Over the next three weeks, a team of scientists will investigate these deep-sea discoveries to confirm whether they are indeed new species. This mission has been led by Ocean Census, a non-profit organization. The work of this organization is to discover the creatures found in the sea.
The scientists of the team are also surprised by one of their discoveries. They discovered a new species of fish known as eelpout. Many scientists also believe that it could be a type of deep-sea coral called octocoral. The more exciting thing is that if it is something outside the octocoral, then it could prove to be an important discovery for the deep sea. However, this mystery will be revealed only after the investigation. A mission was launched in April 2023 that aims to identify 100,000 unknown species over the next 10 years.
To collect samples, the ship pulled three different types of sledges, depending on the terrain. These include a traditional beam trawl that drags a net to collect samples. It also includes a heavy-duty seamount sledge for rocky surfaces, a third for sampling water just above the seafloor, and a camera. There remains a huge gap in scientific knowledge about the depths of the ocean. According to the Ocean Census, out of the 22 lakh species believed to be present in the Earth's oceans, scientists know only about 2 lakh 40 thousand.