{News Flash} New Deep-Sea Species Discovered
This freaking adorable purple octopus is part of a group of potentially new species discovered off the coast of Canada.
Via NatGeo
Researchers participating in a deep-sea expedition off Canada’s Atlantic coast obtained images of 11 species, all of which may be previously undiscovered. The team is using a remote-control robot for dives at more than 9,000 feet under the sea.
The images captured include the aforementioned super-cute cephalopod, sponges, coral (pictured below), and more! It’s exciting when new species are discovered, particularly in the deep sea, as technology for working in those depths continues to improve.
Living in the “deep sea” (considered deeper than 200 meters or 656 feet) requires special adaptations to immense pressure, complete darkness, and cold temperatures. This article by the awesome site Dive and Discover, says this about surviving that pressure: “The immense pressure at depths below 2,000 meters can crush air spaces within humans…Most underwater organisms do not have any air spaces. They are made up of entirely liquid or solid material, so are not affected by pressure in these spaces.”
Check out this killer site called Sea & Sky, which has a section on deep sea creatures. It’s maintained by a fellow nature enthusiast and I have to say, the personal bios on the different creatures is pretty amazing. Finally, here’s another great article full of info on life in the deep sea. Enjoy!
Original story link: National Geographic Daily News, July 27, 2010
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More on Deep Sea Creatures?
Here’s a sweet vid about deep sea creatures that glow.
And here’s a gallery of prehistoric sea creatures, including Protostega (which is just fun to say), a 10-foot long sea turtle!
Posted on August 10, 2010, in News, Tweets, & Links and tagged bioluminescence, cephalopod, coral, creatures, deep sea, evolution, naturalist, nature, new, ocean, octopus, species, spectacular deep sea species discovered off the coast of canada. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
The Roaming Naturalist 
The deep sea is one of those places where new species will always be discovered. We know more about the moon than the deep sea! And there, evolution is always providing us with fantastic new adaptations.
Yes, and even cooler is that they have such extraordinary conditions to adapt to! I always have my hopes up that one day some giant monster is going to climb out of the deep and shock the hell out of us all.
– t r n
That octopus looks so totally huggable!