A new world in the depths of the ocean: More than 100 new species discovered in Chile!

Discoveries made by diving deep near Chile with the help of an underwater robot have created great excitement in the scientific world. An international research team may have discovered more than 100 new species during a mission to study seamounts off the coast of Chile. These strange and new creatures have made the 3,000-kilometer area known as the Salas y Gomez Ridge their home.

According to details featured in Popular Science Turkey, seamounts are large underwater mountains that are generally formed by volcanic activity and can be found in all ocean basins on Earth. These areas, which are of vital importance for many living things such as corals, mollusks, crustaceans, fish, and marine mammals, are located within the newly explored underwater mountain chain. This chain consists of more than 200 seamounts and extends from the coast of Chile to Rapa Nui.

Throughout their expedition, the research team mapped an area of more than 52,000 square kilometers on the seafloor and discovered four new seamounts in Chilean waters. They also investigated marine protected areas such as Chile's Juan Fernandez and Nazca-Desventuradas marine parks.

Researchers also used an underwater robot named ROV SuBastian to collect data from the seamounts. ROV SuBastian is capable of diving deeper than 4.3 kilometers in the Pacific Ocean, and the data it collects will be an important resource for the protection of these underwater habitats. Scientists discovered that each seamount hosts different ecosystems. These ecosystems include vulnerable areas such as sponge gardens and deep-sea coral reefs.

The research team will conduct genetic and physiological analyses over the next few years to determine whether the newly discovered species are truly new.