- Scientists have discovered thousands of new species in an area of the Pacific Ocean.
- They found 5,578 species in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a 1.7 million square mile region.
Scientists researching an untouched area of the Pacific Ocean have discovered over 5,000 new species, according to research published in the journal Current Biology.
The area, which is rich in minerals, has been identified as a target zone for future mining, and scientists have set out to research the area's ecosystem before it begins.
Of the 5,578 new species discovered, around 88% to 92% were "new to science," the report says.
The new species were found thousands of feet deep in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), an area of the ocean floor between Hawaii and Mexico that spans 1.7 million square miles.
One of the main concerns is that mining activity would destroy this fragile ecosystem that has likely been unchanged for millions of years.
Adrian Glover, a researcher at London's Natural History Museum and a co-author of the study, said, "It is imperative that we work with the companies looking to mine these resources to ensure any such activity is done in a way that limits its impact upon the natural world."
According to the report, the CCZ was first explored in the 1960s, while informal lists of species were created from the late 1970s to the 1990s.
"In a way, I am surprised about how little we actually know," said Muriel Rabone, a deep-sea researcher at the Natural History Museum and the lead author of the study.
"Considering we have been visiting the CCZ since the 1960s, and it is actually the best-known abyssal region, yet we still know only 10% of species-level diversity," she added.
The Natural History Museum says that the CCZ is home to a wide variety of species, including sea cucumbers, sponges, crustaceans, worms, "and even the odd fish." One of the incredible discoveries in the region earned nicknamed the "gummy squirrel" due to its jelly-like appearance, Glover told The Guardian.
Nineteen contracts have so far been awarded to deep-sea mining contractors to explore the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, according to the International Seabed Authority.