'Baffling' New Species Found in Ocean Trench Defies Identification

A vast treasure trove of strange new species has been uncovered hiding deep within an unsuspecting ocean trench.

Nearly 100 brand new species, previously unknown to science, were spotted during a research expedition into the Bounty Trough, off the coast of New Zealand.

These weird lifeforms include three new species of fish, as well as a number of new corals, sea cucumbers, and mollusks, with one of the new animals eluding identification.

These new specimens have mystified the researchers, as they couldn't classify the animal by its appearance alone. Some suggested it may be a sea star, while others believe it could be a sea anemone.

"We've got a lot of experts here having a look who are very excited," Michela Mitchell, a taxonomist at the Queensland Museum Network who was involved in the expedition, said in a statement.

"We now think it could be a new species of octocoral, but also a new genus [wider grouping of species]. Even more excitingly, it could be a whole new group outside of the octocoral. If it is, that is a significant find for the deep sea and gives us a much clearer picture of the planet's unique biodiversity," she said.

This discovery comes courtesy of an international team aboard the research vessel Tangaroa, which belongs to New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

Over the course of the mission, over 1,800 samples were recovered from the 500-mile-long, 15,000-foot-deep Bounty Trough, situated about 30 miles off the coast of New Zealand's South Island. The vessel was on a three-week voyage marking the first Southern Hemisphere expedition for Ocean Census, a global collaboration to discover and protect life deep in the ocean.

Deep sea trenches are some of the most extreme environments on Earth, characterized by high pressure, darkness, and cold temperatures. Despite these harsh conditions, various forms of life have adapted to survive in these deep-sea habitats. Some of the animals that inhabit deep sea trenches include fish like anglerfish, viperfish and gulper eels, cephalopods like giant squid, deep-sea shark species, and a vast array of invertebrates, ranging from corals and sea cucumbers to shrimps and crabs.

Many of these species have special adaptations that allow them to thrive in the extreme environments of the deep sea, including bioluminescence, specialized eyes adapted for low light conditions, and extreme pressure tolerance.

The other new species found in the Bounty Trough include a vast range of lifeforms, including several mollusks, three fish, and one new species of shrimp and cephalopod.

"It looks like we have a great haul of new, undiscovered species. By the time all our specimens are examined, we will be north of 100 new species. But what's really surprised me here is the fact this extends to animals like fish – we think we've got three new species of fish," Alex Rogers, science director of Ocean Census and professor of conservation biology at the University of Oxford, said in the statement.

The researchers are excited by the vast range of new species, as it may imply that other trenches like the Bounty that have yet to be explored may also contain a litany of new and exotic lifeforms.

"We've gone to lots of different habitats and discovered a whole range of new species, from fish to snails, to corals and sea cucumbers – really interesting species that are going to be new to science," voyage co-leader and NIWA marine biologist Sadie Mills said in the statement.

The new species will be sorted and described at NIWA and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa over the next few weeks so that they can be officially added to the catalog of New Zealand's biodiversity, which currently consists of 18,494 known living species.

"Ocean Census has enabled us to explore an area of Aotearoa's deep seafloor that we previously knew little about in terms of the animals that live there," Rodgers said.

"This partnership will not only add new species to our recently published New Zealand marine biodiversity inventory, but will improve our understanding of the seafloor habitats and living geographic and depth ranges of rare species."

The researchers hope to continue exploring the sea floor and deep trenches near New Zealand and beyond, further enriching the country's rich and unique biodiversity.

"It was a privilege to collaborate with NIWA and Ocean Census," Andrew Stewart, a curator of fishes at Te Papa said in the statement. "While our findings are significant, we know that we've barely scratched the surface of the Bounty Trough – there's a whole other world of fauna still waiting to be discovered."

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