Remote Seamounts in the Southeast Pacific May Harbor 20 New Species

Located about 1,400 kilometers from Chile, a diverse array of deep-sea life thrives around a 3,100-meter-tall underwater mountain. This region, situated at the junction of the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridges, has emerged as a key biodiversity area.

A recent survey conducted over a month uncovered a previously unknown seamount and discovered various marine species potentially new to science, reports ScienceNews. The Schmidt Ocean Institute in Palo Alto, California, announced on August 28 that researchers observed 80 species for the first time in this underwater ecosystem.

The identification of this seamount surprised oceanographer Jyotika Virmani, the institute's executive director. Satellite images showed only a faint indication of a seafloor irregularity. The actual seamount towers thousands of meters high, reaching a summit nearly 994 meters below the ocean's surface.

Researchers used a robotic diving vehicle to explore this and nine additional seamounts. The expedition revealed a lively ecosystem featuring a garden of sponges and ancient corals, spanning approximately the length of two basketball courts. This deep-sea garden may not match the density of shallow coastal reefs, which teems with coral, according to Virmani, yet it remains a remarkable deep-water habitat.

During their exploration, the robotic submersible captured footage of the Casper octopus, known for its striking similarity to the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost. This species remains formally undescribed, with prior sightings limited to the North Pacific.

Additionally, the expedition produced the first-ever living footage of a Promachoteuthis squid. Prior encounters had only supplied specimens caught in nets, with no live samples available before now.

Among the findings, researchers hypothesized that 20 species might be new to science, existing exclusively on the summits of their seamounts. This discovery supplements findings from two earlier expeditions, which had already proposed 150 possible new species. The newly recorded organisms include sea anemones, shrimp, urchins, and a squat lobster. Researchers also unearthed a possible fossil from an ancient whale species, although this requires further verification.

The researchers emphasized that these discoveries indicate this underexplored area is rich in previously unidentified wildlife.

Earlier, SSP reported that a world's fastest microscope captures electron motion.