By James Gamble via SWNS
More than 100 new species of alien-looking marine life have been discovered living amid huge underwater mountains off the coast of Chile.
An international team of scientists visited previously unexplored seamounts – towering at up to 3,530 meters – and found dozens of never-before-seen species.
Experts impressively mapped more than 52,777 square kilometers of the seafloor at depths of up to 4,500 meters, identifying deep-sea corals, sponges, sea urchins, amphipods, squat lobsters and other species they believe to be new to science.
The research team, led by the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI), used a remote-controlled underwater robot to explore the marine life at the looming seamounts.
On their ambitious expedition, the team explored the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridge, located both inside and outside of Chile’s jurisdiction, to collect data that could be used to support the designation of an international high-seas marine protected area.
Countless companies are pining to mine mountain ranges across our planet’s oceans for their natural minerals, such as cobalt, they harbor.
However, previous tests have already shown how this mining would desecrate the lively communities of mostly undiscovered marine life the seamounts play host to.
The Salas y Gómez Ridge is a 2,900-kilometre-long underwater mountain chain comprised of more than 200 seamounts that stretch from off the coastline of Chile to the southeastern Pacific Ocean island of Rapa Nui – better known as Easter Island.
The majority of the underwater mountain ridge exists outside any nation’s jurisdiction.
The researchers also explored two of Chile’s protected marine areas: the Juan Fernandez and Nazca-Desventuradas marine parks.
During their expedition, the scientists used the underwater robot SuBastian, which is capable of descending to depths of up to 4,500 meters – 14.5 times the height of the London landmark The Shard – to collect data from ten seamounts.
All ten of the seamounts are to be used to advance Chile’s marine protection efforts.
The international research team found that each seamount played host to a vast array of distinct ecosystems, many of which were identified as vulnerable.
These included thriving, deep-sea coral reefs and sponge gardens as well as brightly-colored and mysterious species of fish, lobster and amphipods likely never before seen by human eyes.
Experts are now analyzing the physiology and genetics of the specimens to confirm whether they are new species to science.
Scientists on the expedition mapped a total of 52,777 square kilometers of seafloor, resulting in the discovery of four seamounts within Chilean waters.
The fourth and tallest seamount, standing at 3,530 meters and explored and mapped for the first time, was unofficially named ‘Solito’ by the research team.
Dr. Javier Sellanes, of northern Chile’s Universidad Católica del Norte, said the number of new species his team found was unexpected.
“We far exceeded our hopes on this expedition,” he explained.
“You always expect to find new species in these remote and poorly explored areas, but the amount we found, especially for some groups like sponges, is mind-blowing.
“These thriving and healthy ecosystems indicate that the Nazca-Desventuradas and Juan Fernández Marine Parks effectively protect delicate marine habitats.”
A second expedition on the Research Vessel Falkor (too) is set to sail in the coming days (Feb 24) to further explore the Salas y Gomez Ridge.
Underwater dives from the expedition will be live-streamed on the SOI’s YouTube channel as scientists explore areas deeper than 600 meters depth for the first time.
California-based non-profit organization SOI will also be operating in the Southeast Pacific in the coming year, exploring the waters off Peru and Chile.
Dr. Jyotika Virmani, the Institute’s Executive Director, added: “Full species identification can take many years, and Dr. Sellanas and his team have an incredible number of samples from this amazingly beautiful and little-known biodiversity
hotspot.
“Schmidt Ocean Institute is a partner with the Nippon Foundation – Nekton Ocean Census Program, which has set a target of finding 100,000 new marine species in the next 10 years and, once identified, these new species will be a part of that.”
