This peculiar-looking sea toad might resemble a crochet. However, it is just one of a hundred species discovered in the underwater mountains off Chile that may be novel to science. Red Deep-Sea Monster
Though many alien contacts occur in science fiction shows, few of the imagined species are as strange as those found in our own deep water. More than a hundred odd-looking species that are probably new to science were found recently by a team investigating the seas off the coast of Chile.
Chief scientist Javier Sellanes, a marine biologist from the Catholic University of the North in Chile, said, “Although finding new species in these areas, among the most remote and poorly explored in the world’s oceans, is not unexpected, finding dozens of them is thrilling and inspiring.”
In order to investigate the depths of the southeastern Pacific Ocean, the scientists set out early in 2024 on board the Falkor (too) research vessel operated by the Schmidt Ocean Institute. They descended more than 5,000 feet with a robotic underwater vehicle, or ROV, outfitted with lights and cameras to webcast the undiscovered treasures located far below the surface of the ocean.
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Researchers discovered crimson crabs with long, spindly legs covered in spikes, a life form that looks like a living constellation and moves like an underwater tumbleweed, and a variety of species that flash with bioluminescence. A particular kind of fish that caught my attention is known as the “walking fish,” and it has crocheted skin and googly eyes. This particular species of deep-sea anglerfish is known for its gloomy face and bright lure, which it dangles in front of its face to entice prey. It is related to the sea toad. Its skin resembles a doily and is covered with tiny needles that probably provide protection and holes for the sense organs.
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According to Sellanes, the sea toad’s ability to walk on the seafloor is due in part to its modified fins, which enable it to hunt, as well as the fact that it uses less energy than swimming. Experts suggest that since this is the first scientific record of a sea toad in the Southeast Pacific, it is most likely a new species.
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The genus of sea toad, or Chaunacops, is known for very little in terms of its ecology, behavior, and other biological elements, according to retired U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries biologist Bruce Mundy, who was not involved in the expedition. For example, he says, “There have been no studies, to my knowledge,” about how their lures actually work.
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Marine oases
Together with the six already known to science, the researchers mapped four undersea mountains, or seamounts, that were previously undiscovered. In one of the trip videos, Jan Maximiliano Guerra, a Ph.D. candidate at the Catholic University of the North, stated that certain species are able to exist and adapt to a lifestyle that is exclusive to those seamounts due to their distinctive terrain. Because of this, the majority of the species that we locate on the seamounts and along this mountain range are unique and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
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“In many ways, they constitute a kind of oasis in the middle of a marine desert,” adds Sellanes in a different video. According to NOAA, there may be far more than 100,000 seamounts in the world, but fewer than 0.1 percent have been studied. Much fewer are protected from potentially hazardous human activities like mining, bottom trawling, and commercial fishing.
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Scratching the surface
However, Sellanes thinks that more seamounts must be protected. He saw massive, 10-foot-tall bamboo corals, seafloor-dwelling octopuses, fields of sea lilies, and giant sponges during the expedition—all of which were found in completely different habitats. According to Sellanes, “each seamount is unique, and protecting a small number of them is insufficient to effectively protect all the diversity of fauna and habitats they host.”
As a result of their unique habitat, many plants and animals found on seamounts are particularly susceptible, according to lead scientist Erin Easton, a biological oceanographer at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
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images source: Google
Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN.
