Many new species found in ocean depths+

TOKYO, Nov. 23 Kyodo -
An international research group has found an octopus with fins like elephant
ears and a transparent sea cucumber along with many other apparently new
deep-sea species in an exploration of the ocean depths, the group said Sunday.

Dr. Paul Snelgrove at Memorial University in Canada said that although there
are many kinds of deep-sea organisms and they play a major role in the sea,
such as in carbon cycles, they are susceptible to deep-sea trawl fishing and
global warming.
It is necessary to protect the diversity of life in the ocean depths, Snelgrove
said.
The research is a part of the ''Census of Marine Life,'' a 10-year scientific
survey conducted by the United Nations and other organizations. Researchers
from about 80 countries are participating in the project, and the group plans
to release a final report in October 2010.
In the research conducted in waters ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 meters in depth
in such areas as the Gulf of Mexico and northern and western parts of the
Atlantic from 2007 to 2009, the group confirmed more than about 17,500 species.
Many of the species, ranging from crabs to shrimps and worms, are believed to
be new, according to the group. The exploration was conducted using deep-towed
cameras, sonar and other vanguard technology, it said.
In the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that runs across the central part of the Atlantic,
the group collected nine species of the commonly called ''Dumbo'' -- a finned
octopod which has a pair of large ear-like fins for swimming.
Among the nine species, one may be new to science, the group said. The group
also captured a jumbo Dumbo nearly two meters in length and weighing about 6
kilograms.
In waters 2,000 to 2,500 meters deep in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the group
succeeded in taking a photograph of an eel-like orange fish, while at 2,750
meters in the Northern Gulf of Mexico it found an odd transparent sea cucumber
sweeping detritus-rich sediment into its month and also found abundant coral
gardens at a depth of 1,000 meters in the New Zealand seamount.
==Kyodo
2009-11-23 19:41:08