Entirely new form of life possibly found off New Zealand coast

A team of marine scientists has discovered around 100 potential new species off the coast of New Zealand, including a mysterious life form that has not yet been identified. The researchers found these new species, such as a possible deep-sea coral and a unique fish called an eelpout, during a three-week exploration along the 500-mile-long Bounty Trough. This discovery is part of the Ocean Census project, which aims to identify 100,000 unknown species in the next decade. The team collected nearly 1,800 samples from depths of up to three miles using different sleds modified for various terrains. These findings highlight the vast unexplored biodiversity of the ocean, with only a fraction of the estimated 2.2 million species documented by scientists so far.

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• New Zealand
• Ocean Census