New deep-sea discoveries reveal hidden life in Australian Marine Parks

Caption: Deep-towed camera systems deployed during the voyages also captured rare vision of life in some of the deepest parts of the Indian Ocean Territories marine parks.
Credit: CSIRO

The voyages were led by Museums Victoria with support from Parks Australia to improve understanding of the unique ecosystems of Australia’s Indian Ocean Territories.

More than 1,000 marine animal species were collected from deep-sea environments during the expeditions, with scientists identifying at least 149 species that were previously unknown to science.

The newly identified species include black corals, octocorals, hard corals, deep-sea worms, barnacles, decapods, sea stars, brittle stars, sea cucumbers and fishes.

Among the most remarkable findings was a newly discovered species of deep-ocean annelid worm, Bathyvermilioides juliebrockae, collected at depths approaching 5,000 metres — one of the deepest new species discoveries ever made using RV Investigator.

Researchers also recovered more than 1,000 shark teeth from the seafloor, including teeth from both modern and long-extinct shark species dating back between 33 and 22 million years.

The findings highlight both the extraordinary biodiversity of Australia’s marine parks and how much remains unknown about deep-ocean ecosystems. 

The research contributes to ongoing efforts by Parks Australia and scientific partners to better understand, manage and protect Australia’s marine environments for future generations.