[貼圖] "Spectacular" Deep-Sea Species Found off Canada

本帖最後由 dxb 於 2011-6-30 06:16 AM 編輯

New Purple Octopus?
An unidentified purple octopus (pictured) is one of 11 potentially new species found this month during a deep-sea expedition off Canada's Atlantic coast, scientists say.

Still at sea, a team of Canadian and Spanish researchers is using a remotely operated vehicle called ROPOS for dives off Newfoundland with a maximum depth of about 9,800 feet (3,000 meters).

The 20-day expedition aims to uncover relationships between cold-water coral and other bottom-dwelling creatures in a pristine yet "alien" environment, according to the researchers' blog.

"It's been really spectacular," Ellen Kenchington, research scientist with the Fisheries Department of Canada—one of the organizations involved in the project—told Canada's CTV News website.

"It's really changing our perception of the diversity that's out there. ... We're seeing new species in deeper waters."

Unidentified Sea Pen
An unidentified sea pen (pictured) belonging to the order Pennatulacea has been discovered during the July 2010 expedition on the Atlantic coast off Newfoundland.
Actually soft corals, sea pens are so named because their rows of polyps resemble old-fashioned quill pens, according to the University of California Museum of Paleontology.

Solitary Cup Coral
ROPOS, the expedition's remotely operated vehicle, had a high-definition digital camera, which captured several images of rare species, such as this flower-like solitary cup coral. These cup corals are also common off North America's Pacific Coast, according to Louisiana State University.

Vase Sponge
A possibly new species of vase sponge was one of the bottom dwellers discovered during the expedition. The simplest multicellular animals, sponges have no organs but possess many "pores," which lead to canals and chambers, according to Bellarmine University.

Coral With Sea Anemones
Bright pink anemones "decorate" polyps of coral in the Paramuricea species in a picture taken during the July 2010 expedition off Newfoundland.
Sea anemones are coral relatives that usually attach to rock or coral. The animals have stinging tentacles that can paralyze and entangle small prey, according to the U.S. National Museum of Natural History.

Unidentified Sponge
This unrecognizable sponge species (pictured) is among the "major biological highlights" found on volcanic mounds off Newfoundland on July 20, according to the project blog.

"What an unexpected dive!" project scientists wrote after seeing this sponge, black corals, and other oddities.

New Species of Bivalve
This recently identified species of bivalve mollusk was also discovered in the July survey of the Newfoundland depths. Bivalves—known for their "hinged," two-sided shells—can burrow into sediment or live on the ocean floor, according to the University of California Museum of Paleontology. Some species even snap their shells open and shut to swim.

"Spectacular" Sponges
This "spectacularly dense" bed of large white sponges of the family Geodiidae was captured during the Newfoundland project's last dive, according to the expedition blog.

The final dive, which covered a 4,000-foot-deep (1,200-meter-deep) span of water, revealed a vast array of habitats, from cliffside terraces full of sponges and corals to sandy bottoms nearly devoid of life.

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