New Marine Animals Discovered in Tasmanian Ocean

A joint US-Australian team of scientists from the California Institute of Technology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has discovered previously unknown species of marine animals while exploring the deep waters off the coast of Tasmania.

The new animals found include "a bizarre carnivorous sea squirt [ascidian], sea spiders and giant sponges, and previously unknown marine communities dominated by gooseneck barnacles and millions of round, purple-spotted sea anemones." The team also found vast fossil coral fields dating back more than 10,000 years, from which samples could reveal ancient climate data.

The team used a submersible robot named Jason to venture into a previously unexplored area known as the Tasman Fracture Zone. This zone is a rift in the Earth's crust that drops a sheer two kilometers to end at 4000 meters below the ocean's surface and is part of a protected marine reserve. The team also found evidence of the coral reef system dying, possibly as a result of the warming of ocean temperatures.

These results were published recently by the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship.

Source: ScienceDaily; Photo: Yahoo!