More Than 110 New Species Discovered In Deep Waters Off Australia

Scientists have identified more than 110 new species found in deep water beyond the edges of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

In total, the number of new species is likely to surpass 200 as scientists sift through photos and specimens collected from the Coral Sea late last year. Discoveries include brittlestars, crabs, sea anemones, sponges, worms, rays, a ghost shark, and a deepwater catshark.

“During the voyage it was incredible to observe plenty of unique, deep-sea creatures in locations from seamounts and atolls to unexplored deep reefs,” said Will White, a shark expert with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and chief scientist on the expedition.

Sea creatures were found as much as 10,000 feet deep in Coral Sea Marine Park, which sprawls across nearly 400,000 square miles of Australian waters and whose depths are largely unexplored. The deep ocean is home to “some of the most interesting and least known species,” said White.

Scientists carefully studied specimens in a series of workshops around Australia and undertook genetic testing to identify new species. The discoveries “reveal the extraordinary life in our oceans,” White said.

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