Amazing creatures found in one of the deepest trenches in the world

One of the deepest ocean trenches on Earth, the Kermadec Trench in the South Pacific is home to

rare sea creatures.They live in the hadal zone at depths of 6,000 to 11,000 m. As part of a new underwater expedition, scientists have published stunning photographs of strange species. Some of them have not been seen before.

Among the most breathtaking pictures takenby a team of researchers from China and New Zealand during a mission in November 2022, is a photograph of a scarlet anglerfish (Gigantactis). It swims upside down with the bait hovering near the seabed.

Large 1m long eel spotted at 6,500m below sea level

A scarlet anglerfish at a depth of 5,736 m below sea level during the second ever manned expedition to the Scholl Deep in the Kermadec Trench

The crew spent 6 hours exploring steep trenches andgutters. Along the way they observed tiny glass sea cucumbers; a rare deep sea star (Hymenaster) that hasn't been seen in over 70 years; anemones and sea squirts.

Starfish, anemones, small corals, sponges and sea squirts on a secluded rock at a depth of 6,124 m make their home

Rare deep sea star (Hymenaster)

Dive - one of 16 completed and partthe first stage of a two-month science mission aboard the research vessel IDSSE Tansuoyihao. The second stage, consisting of another 15 dives, took place in December 2022. During it, scientists watched as a huge sunfish fell to the bottom, and then dozens of deep-sea fish and thousands of crustaceans fed on it. They also found intact vertebrae of a 4-meter shark.

Deep-sea fish feed on the carcass of a large sunfish that has drowned in surface waters. All images in this article are courtesy of HOV Fendouzhe, IDSSE

The Kermadec Depression, which extends over1000 km, located off the northern coast of New Zealand. The deepest point, Scholl Deep, is 10,047 meters below sea level. It is deeper than the height of Mount Everest.

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