Robots discover 39 new species at the bottom of the ocean

Scientists expect samples collected to unveil some of the secrets of the many denizens of the deep

Robots have discovered 39 potential new species at the bottom of the ocean. All photos: PA Media

Researchers at the Natural History Museum say the undescribed organisms represent a fraction of the undiscovered species from the deep sea.

A remotely operated vehicle allowed the samples, collected from the abyssal plains of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the central Pacific, to be brought to the surface.

One of the undiscovered species from the deep sea.

Scientists are studying the samples.

The deep sea houses many as yet undiscovered creatures.

This new species will now be studied by scientists.

Robots helped researchers to gain a greater understanding of what lies beneath.

A gummy squirrel, also known as the Psychropotes longicauda.

Robots have discovered 39 potential new species at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

Researchers at the Natural History Museum in London said the undescribed organisms represent a fraction of the undiscovered species from the deep sea, which scientists are working to understand.

A remotely operated vehicle allowed the samples ― collected from the abyssal plains of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the central Pacific ― to be brought to the surface.

This enabled scientists to get a much better idea of the organisms living at depths of 3,100 to 5,100 metres below sea level.

In the past animals from this area had been studied only in photographs.

Remarkably, 48 of the 55 specimens recovered were different species, and only nine of the 48 were known to science.

A lot of the life at the bottom of the ocean is a mystery to scientists, and is undisturbed by human activity because it is so hard to reach.

Researchers say that while it is known that tiny, millimetre-sized creatures (macrofauna) in the abyss are extremely biodiverse, there has not been a lot of information about larger animals (megafauna), and the findings indicate this group could also be very diverse.

Dr Guadalupe Bribiesca-Contreras at the Natural History Museum, the lead author on the study, said: "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."

Among the samples collected were starfish and sea cucumbers. Many are marine invertebrates.

The team also collected small animals anchored to the sediment or attached to hard substrate such as sea anemones, goose barnacles, sea lilies, sea sponges, and a glass sponge more than a metre long.

They also found swimming sea cucumbers and a sea urchin galloping on the seabed.

One of the newly discovered deep sea species is Psychropotes longicauda, also known as the gummy squirrel.

Merit researcher Dr Adrian Glover, who leads the museum's deep sea research group, said: "We know that small, millimetre-sized animals called macrofauna are extremely biodiverse in the abyss.

"However, we have never really had much information on the larger animals we call megafauna, as so few samples have been collected.

"This study is the first to suggest that diversity may be very high in these groups as well."

The findings are published in the journal Zookeys.