Pink guinea pigs, sea fish and transparent unukukuma cucumber – these are the results of a recent expedition of scientists to the Pacific Ocean area located between Hawaii and California. This region, called Clarion-Clipperton, is rich in biodiversity. Its fauna is of particular interest to science. Fold your legs into sausage toes. The expedition, led by Dr Adrian Glover of the Natural History Museum in London, is reported by IFL Science. Marine biologists have discovered several new species of deep-sea creatures on the ocean floor. Particular attention was drawn to a wonderful creature that looked like an alien. It was pale pink in color (its brethren were white) and had stilted legs with sausage-shaped toes. The animal moves them along the bottom, looking for food among the silt. Scientists explained that these are plantains from the genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers. It is also called a “porpoise”, although this phrase is usually used to describe other animals in the marine mammal family. Representatives of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute explain that scotoplanes live at a depth of 1-6 thousand meters. They are found on the bottom plains of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and some related species are also found in Antarctica. These unusual creatures feed on decaying organic matter, extracting it from bottom sediments. They have been observed to favor food that has just fallen to the bottom, and schools of them have previously been spotted over whale carcasses. The specimen discovered by scientists was jokingly called “Barbie Pig.” Firstly, because of its pink color, and secondly, because some members of the research group watched the movie “Barbie” on the plane en route to Costa Rica. In addition, British scientists told IFL Science about a transparent “non-cucumber” cucumber and a tentacle fish, which they noticed in the depths of the ocean. It is unclear whether the creatures discovered in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone are species new to science. Perhaps it was simply not possible to see them well before – this is the first time photographs of such high resolution have been obtained. “We can imagine that many of these species will be new to scientists,” said marine biologist Regen Drennan. “They have been observed from time to time during seafloor surveys, but have not been formally described or studied due to a lack of specimens.” The body on the surface will turn to jelly. The Clarion-Clipperton Zone is a unique region in the Pacific Ocean. It does not belong to anyone, but contains a huge amount of rare metals: cobalt, nickel and manganese. First of all, this aroused interest in the zone. Scientists are selected there to conduct research on mining. But this is precisely what frightens biologists: if large-scale mining begins, the local fauna will be in danger of extinction, so they will not even have time to study it properly. Although the International Seabed Authority (the name of the intergovernmental organization that monitors activities in deep sea areas beyond national jurisdiction) has limited metal mining in the region, many contracts have already been signed. The deep-sea Clarion-Clipperton Plain is located between California and the Hawaiian Islands, its depth is approximately 4 thousand meters. Almost no light penetrates there, and the water temperature is only slightly above 0 ℃. Previous studies of this zone have estimated that about 6 thousand species of animals live here, and about 90% of them have not been previously studied. Many of them are endemic, meaning they are not common in other places. So, in 2016, oceanologists discovered 12 specimens of living creatures there, seven of them were unknown to science, and two represented not just a new species, but a new genus or even family. According to scientists, the rich biodiversity of this region is associated precisely with deposits of metals – mainly manganese. As for Scotoplanesa, which so impressed the expedition of British scientists, it is said to belong to the genus of deep-sea holothurians, and they are quite common on the bottom of the World Ocean. Another thing is that it is unclear whether this is a new species or an already known one. Sea cucumbers’ tendency to hide in the abyss makes them difficult to study. If you remove such a creature from its natural habitat by raising it to the surface, its body will simply turn into jelly due to the pressure difference. Therefore, researchers still do not have answers to many questions about these creatures. Therefore, it is unclear how long they live. And when did they appear on Earth? The most terrible monsters of the deep sea The most terrible monsters of the deep sea
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