New species discovered during exploration of abyssal deep sea canyons

[FfFfFfFF 58,135]

An estimated 150-foot siphonophore– seemingly the longest animal ever recorded was discovered during a month-long scientific expedition exploring the submarine canyons near Ningaloo.

Additionally, up to 30 new underwater species were made by researchers from the Western Australian Museum aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor.

The discovery of the massive gelatinous string siphonophore–a floating colony of tiny individual zooids that clone themselves thousands of times into specialized bodies that string together to work as a team–was just one of the unique finds among some of the deepest fish and marine invertebrates ever recorded for Western Australia. Scientists from the Western Australian Museum, led by Chief Scientist Dr. Nerida Wilson, were joined by researchers from Curtin University, Geoscience Australia and Scripps Institution of Oceanography in exploring the Ningaloo Canyons in the Indian Ocean. Using an underwater robot, ROV SuBastian, they completed 20 dives at depths of up to 4,500 meters over 181 hours of exploration.

The team also found the largest specimen of the giant siphonophore Apolemia ever recorded–video of which was posted on Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Twitter account. “We suspected these deep sea areas would be diverse but we have been blown away by the significance of what we have seen,” Wilson said. Added Dr. Lisa Kirkendale, head of aquatic zoology at the Western Australian Museum and co-principal investigatorI, “These specimens represent so many extensions in depth and range records for so many species, and will form an important new part of WA Museum collections.”

 

Source:  https://www.heritagedaily.com/2020/04/new-species-discovered-during-exploration-of-abyssal-deep-sea-canyons/127473

[ice bear 1]

it's a dragon

[TimisaMonster 31,073]

The world of Chromatica looks amazing 

[Smother Em Eh 7,284]

This is cool

[Woolfsmck 2,763]

It's impossible to glam in those conditions...

I bet those critters weren't quite ready for that photo shoot...

[EuphoricVibez 9]

Ooh, sea critters  Seriously, though, I'm intrigued now. There are definitely plenty more underwater creatures we have no idea about.

[Lord Temptation 11,209]

I want to visit Ningaloo reef before I die 

We are so lucky in Australia to be surrounded by the purest water in the world