During the expedition, researchers discovered more than a hundred species previously unknown to science, but one of them turned out to be particularly curious.
In the latest deep-sea expedition off the coast of New Zealand, a team from New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) explored the Bounty Trench, a mysterious point in the ocean that is home to hundreds of bizarre animals.
However, one of them literally ‘confused’ biologists, the newspaper reports Daily email.
In total, scientists discovered more than 100 species previously unknown to science, including dozens of molluscs, three fish, a new species of shrimp, a cephalopod and a new coral genus.
But according to expedition co-leader, NIWA marine biologist Sadie Mills, the most surprising creature the researchers discovered was an animal that looked like a shriveled gray cauliflower.
The team notes that the creature was so strange that they were a bit confused at first. This amazing cauliflower-like creature is believed to be a new type of octocoral, a deep-sea organism characterized by polyps with eight tentacles.
The team initially theorized that what they were looking at might be a starfish or sea anemone, or possibly another deep-sea animal known as a zoanthid. However, further research showed that this is not the case.
According to Queensland Museum taxonomist Dr Michela Mitchell, many experts were extremely excited and intrigued during the deep-sea expedition. Over time, the team came to the conclusion that they were not only looking at a new species of octocoral, but also a new genus
What seems even more intriguing is that this mysterious creature could actually turn out to be a completely new group, unrelated to octocorals. If so, it will be a significant find for the deep sea, giving scientists a much clearer picture of the planet’s unique biodiversity.
According to the expedition’s co-leader, British marine biologist Professor Alex Rogers, the diversity of life discovered by scientists is somehow very impressive and sheds light on marine ecosystems we were previously unaware of.
Note that this discovery was made as part of a project that includes an ‘ocean census’. Scientists plan to discover more species before the end of the project. The team also notes that discovering multiple fish species at once was exciting; such discoveries are extremely rare.
The research was conducted on board the research vessel Tangaroa. In total, the team collected approximately 1,800 samples from depths up to 4,800 meters along the Bounty Trench.
