Over 100 New Deep-Sea Species Discovered in Uncharted New Zealand Waters

A recent expedition by a team of 21 researchers has yielded a staggering discovery: over 100 potentially new species in the previously unexplored Bounty Trough, a deep-sea canyon off the coast of New Zealand’s South Island.

The three-week voyage aboard the research vessel Tangaroa saw scientists collect nearly 1,800 samples from depths reaching five kilometres. These samples revealed a treasure trove of marine life, including dozens of mollusks, three new fish species, a shrimp, a predatory squid, and a completely unidentified star-shaped organism.

According to marine biologist Alex Rogers, who spearheaded the expedition, the number of new species is expected to rise significantly as they analyze more samples collected from the 800-kilometer-long Bounty Trough.

One particularly intriguing find is a star-shaped organism, approximately a centimetre in size, that remains unidentified. Dr. Daniel Moore, expedition science manager of Ocean Census, described the exploration as true pioneering work, highlighting the scarcity of data in the region off the east coast of New Zealand.

The expedition was a collaborative effort involving Ocean Census, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand, and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Dr. Michela Mitchell of the Queensland Museum Network speculated that the mysterious star-shaped organism could be a type of deep-sea coral known as octocoral.

This discovery adds to the vast potential for future exploration in the world’s oceans. With only an estimated 10% of marine life currently identified, the deep sea continues to hold a wealth of secrets waiting to be unveiled.