Amazing pictures of new species found in Pacific Ocean

May 27: Check out some of the species below!

5,000 new species have been found in an area of the Pacific Ocean called the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. SMARTEX PROJECT/ NERC,

These weird and wonderful creatures include worms, corals and sea cucumbers known as "gummy squirrels and bears". SMARTEX PROJECT/ NERC,

Scientists, like Muriel Rabone, have put together the list of creatures for the first time. There are plans to mine the zone for deep-sea metals which could put the nature of the area at risk. NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LONDON, 

Of the creatures found in the study, 90% of them were completely new to scientists.SMARTEX PROJECT/ NERC,

An abyssal gummy squirrel was one of the strange creatures found at the bottom of the ocean. SMARTEX PROJECT/ NERC,

Scientists sent remote-controlled vehicles down to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean where they found species like this carnivorous sponge. It’s like a box being dragged across the ocean floor! SMARTEX PROJECT/ NERC,

They then made a huge list of all the creatures that they found, like the abyssal sea cucumber. SMARTEX PROJECT/ NERC

 It’s the first time a list like this has been made of what lives in this area - like this ping pong sponge. Now they know what does live there they can begin to understand how to approach and protect these creatures. SMARTEX PROJECT/ NERC,

5,000 new animal species were discovered and this anemone is one of them. But scientists think there's a lot more still to be discovered. SMARTEX PROJECT/ NERC,