More than 5,000 creatures unknown to science found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean

Scientists from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discovered over 5,000 different species of animals in the Clarion-Clipperton deep water zone on the Pacific Ocean floor. This vast territory is located at a depth of about 6 kilometers between Hawaii and Mexico.

Biologists have been actively exploring this area for several years with the help of deep-sea vehicles. This is because it is rich in cobalt, nickel and other minerals, and may soon be at the disposal of mining corporations. And this will inevitably lead to a change in the fauna.

The researchers note that 90% of the discovered species have never been seen or studied before. Most of them don't even have names. And almost all the animals living here are not common anywhere else. Elsewhere, only six of them have been seen, including the predatory sponge and the sea cucumber.

Of the new creatures, scientists have already given the name "gummy squirrel", which has a long tail and jelly-like body, and "glass sponge" (in the title photo). Basically, arthropods, worms and echinoderms live here.