All articles tagged with #deep sea
A Nature Ecology and Evolution study of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone found 4,350 seabed wildlife specimens; about 3,826 matched 788 known species, revealing over 500 potential new species and underscoring the ocean floor's hidden biodiversity as deep-sea mining expands, with researchers noting a 37% decline near mining paths and emphasizing the need to predict biodiversity loss and guide more responsible extraction.
A deep-sea expedition off Argentina using the ROV SuBastian and the Falkor revealed nearly thirty species new to science, a vast Bathelia candida coral reef, cold seeps, and a whale fall, highlighting rich but vulnerable ecosystems and the urgency of protecting these little-understood habitats from human impacts.
Earth.com reports that Anelasma squalicola, a barnacle, has evolved into a parasite that pierces lantern sharks in Norway's Sognefjord, feeding directly from host tissue and marking a rare evolutionary shift from plankton-feeding to a blood/tissue-feeding lifestyle. The finding provides a living snapshot of dramatic biological change and raises questions about whether this parasitic relationship could spread to other oceans beyond the fjord.
A Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre camera off the South Shetland Islands captured a 3-4 meter sleeper shark at about 490-500 meters depth in near-freezing 1.27°C water, challenging the belief that sharks don’t inhabit the Antarctic Ocean. Researchers say the population there is likely sparse and hard to detect, and warming oceans could drive sharks toward the region, with limited year-round monitoring at that depth leaving room for surprises.
Scientists using an undersea camera recorded the first footage of a southern sleeper shark in Antarctic waters near the South Shetland Islands at about 1,600 feet depth and 2°C. The sighting challenges the assumption that Antarctic seas are too cold for sharks and suggests a warm deeper layer may enable occasional southward incursions; climate-change–related warming could drive more sharks toward the region, but data remain sparse, underscoring the need for further study of the Antarctic ecosystem.
A Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre camera off the South Shetland Islands captured a 3–4 meter sleeper shark at about 490–500 meters depth in near-freezing 1.27°C water, possibly the first confirmed record of a shark that far south in the Antarctic Ocean; researchers note such sightings are rare due to remoteness and limited deep-water cameras, and warming oceans could be nudging species toward Antarctica.
Researchers studying deep-sea fish larvae in the mesopelagic 'twilight zone' have found a third photoreceptor that blends cone-like molecular machinery with rod-like shape, a hybrid eye that can detect faint light and bioluminescent signals, challenging 150 years of vision theory that sight relies only on rods and cones. The study, led by Dr. Fabio Cortesi and published in Science Advances, suggests vertebrate vision may involve more than the classic two photoreceptor types.
Scientists filming off Argentina’s coast with the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s ROV SuBastian captured rare footage of Stygiomedusa gigantea, a schoolbus-sized phantom jellyfish that can reach about 33 feet in length at depths around 820 feet; the deep-sea sighting, notable for its four ribbon-like arms used to snare prey, came amid footage of potential new species and rich reef systems uncovered during the expedition.
The article explains what tentacles are (and how they differ from arms), then surveys the contenders for the longest tentacles. It notes measurement challenges in deep-sea creatures and abyssal gigantism. The lion’s mane jellyfish has tentacles that can reach about 30 meters, potentially the longest. Other notable long tentacles belong to the giant squid (tentacles up to ~10 meters), colossal squid (tentacles up to ~7 meters), and Nomura’s jellyfish (large in diameter with long tentacles). It also mentions giant Pacific octopus arms—long but technically arms, not tentacles—can exceed several meters, with records around 9.75 meters in length.
Scientists using the NEPTUNE observatory monitored Barkley Canyon for nearly 10 years and found an unexpected absence of decay activity around whale bones and wood, lacking typical scavengers and bone-eating organisms. The results suggest ocean deoxygenation and expanding oxygen minimum zones are suppressing the deep-sea recyclers (Osedax, Xylophaga), potentially slowing organic decomposition and nutrient cycling with ripple effects on the broader food web.
Geologists report wrinkle-like textures in 180-million-year-old deep-sea turbidites in Morocco that are biotic, formed by chemosynthetic microbial mats in sunless, low-oxygen waters. Carbon-rich layers beneath the wrinkles and modern deep-sea analogs support a biotic origin, suggesting such textures can record ancient life in deep-water settings and may widen where researchers search for early Earth life.
Researchers using ROVs discovered a new bioluminescent coral species, Corallizoanthus aureus, emitting green light only when disturbed in a deep-sea cave near Japan, revealing new insights into deep-sea survival strategies and the potential defensive role of bioluminescence.
Divers off Taiwan filmed a rare giant oarfish in shallow water, highlighting its unique biology and the rarity of such encounters, which are often linked to myths but have no scientific basis for earthquake prediction.
Scientists exploring the Southern Ocean have discovered a variety of new and bizarre deep-sea creatures, including the carnivorous 'death-ball' sponge, iridescent worms, and new sea stars, highlighting the vast unknown biodiversity of the deep sea and the importance of ongoing exploration.
Scientists discovered a new deep-sea mollusk species, Bathylepeta wadatsumi, living at nearly 6 kilometers below the ocean surface near Japan, highlighting the importance of submersible technology in exploring extreme environments and expanding our understanding of deep-sea biodiversity.