New Species of Fish Discovered in Ocean’s Depths

15/10/2010 at 6:10 pm · Filed under Scientific Research, Wildlife and tagged: Deep Sea, HADEEP, Japan, New Zealand, NIWA, Scotland, Univeristy of Aberdeen, University of Tokyo

www.independent.co.uk 15th October 2010

A multi-national team made up of scientists from Japan, New Zealand, and Scotland have discovered several new species in one of the deepest places on the planet. The Peru-Chile trench more than 8000 metres deep and previously thought to be devoid of fish life. The research team used deep-sea imaging technology to take 6000 photographs between 4500 and 8000m in depth. Among the new species was a new type of snailfish called a Liparid living at a depth of 7000m. Large gatherings of Cusk Eels and crustacean scavengers were also recorded for the first time at this depth. The research is the 7th expedition undertaken by a collaborative project (HADEEP) by the University of Aberdeen’s Oceanlab and the University of Tokyo’s Ocean Research Institute, supported by New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research (NIWA).

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