A research expedition into the Coral Sea has uncovered more than 110 previously unknown fish species and invertebrates, with scientists expecting that count to surpass 200 as laboratory work continues. The discoveries were made at depths between 200 meters (656 feet) and 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) in Australia’s largest marine protected area.
The 35-day voyage aboard the CSIRO vessel Investigator left Brisbane in October and traveled to Mellish Reef, about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) off the Queensland coast, to study deep zones where biological records had been sparse.
Dr. Will White, a CSIRO shark researcher and the expedition’s chief scientist, said identification work after the voyage took place on a scale previously unseen in Australian marine taxonomy. White personally confirmed four new coral sea fish species: a chimaera, a deepwater catshark, a ray and a skate.
Four new coral sea fish species confirmed by the lead researcher
The ray, from the stingaree genus Urolophus, was collected from the Kenn Plateau, a seafloor formation between Australia and New Caledonia at nearly equal distance from both. White said the animal resembles a stingray and has a notably long tail with a fin at its tip.
White said the catshark, from the genus Apristurus, is built for deep, cold water. It has dark coloring, a soft and loose body, slow movement and a mouth lined with many small teeth.
The skate, from the genus Dipturus, is pale gray with a long snout containing a firm cartilage ridge. White said the snout broadens into a triangular shape, with bony projections located near the eyes.
The chimaera, whose skeleton is made of cartilage rather than bone, is related to sharks and rays. It has a narrow tapering tail, a blunt snout and a stiff spine in front of the dorsal fin.
Anemones among new finds as genetic testing gets underway
Dr. Claire Rowe, marine invertebrates collection manager at the Australian Museum, said scientists aboard the Investigator photographed animals and collected tissue samples.
She said invertebrates such as jellyfish cannot reliably be identified by appearance alone, and that several anemone specimens may represent species not previously known to science. Genetic testing is continuing.
Rowe said the research is increasingly urgent given growing threats to ocean environments, among them overfishing, climate change and deep-sea mining.
The Coral Sea has warmed by close to half a degree Celsius (0.9 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past three to four decades.
The region set sea surface temperature records over both the past summer and the previous full calendar year. Specimens from the voyage are now held at state museums across the country, as well as at CSIRO and the Australian Museum.
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