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sea explorers have strike two pristine , deep - ocean coral reefs near the Galápagos Islands and put two chartless seamounts off the coast of Ecuador on the map .
The larger of the two stale - water Reef is over 2,600 feet ( 800 meters ) long , consort to astatement . Both reefs sit 1,000 feet ( 300 megabyte ) beneath the ocean Earth’s surface in the Galápagos Marine Reserve and boast a rich diversity of stony coral species that have thrived there for thousands of years .
Corals, crustaceans, urchins, anemones on Cacho De Coral, a newly discovered pristine coral reef in the Galápagos Marine Reserve.
" The Galápagos Marine Reserve is an area of outstanding biological significance,“Stuart bank , a senior marine scientist at the non - profit Charles Darwin Foundation , say in the statement . " Finding such deep and long - lived reefs takes us of import steps closer to protect hidden dimensions of sea multifariousness and understanding the use that deep habitats play in maintaining our sea ’s health . "
relate : What percentage of the sea have we map ?
investigator found the coral reefs during a 30 - day expedition to study submerged cliff ecosystems around the Galápagos Islands . They used a remotely operated vehicle ( ROV ) to capture images of colorful species supporting other forms of life , include crustaceans , windflower , brickle principal and urchin .
Brittle stars entwined in a coral structure growing on a vertical wall of rock.
The jaunt also substantiate the beingness of two seamounts in the ocean stockpile , which scientists had previously detected in satellite data point . The team charted the features using a laser digital scanner that make extremely high - resoluteness mathematical function . These maps are so detailed private animals living on the seafloor can be nibble out .
The researchers also created elaborated maps of the newly discovered coral reefs , which encrust perpendicular rock candy faces spanning depth between 1,200 and 1,400 feet ( 370 to 420 m ) . These are n’t the first cold - piss reefs found in these waters , however : In April , scientistsdocumented the first deep - ocean red coral reeffound in the Galápagos archipelago on the summit of a antecedently unmapped seamount .
" We are thrilled our function data point are able to improve our understanding of reef ecosystems in the Galápagos,“Katleen Robert , a researcher at Memorial University of Newfoundland ’s Fisheries and Marine Institute in Canada who moderate the recent hostile expedition , tell in the statement .
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The expedition also guess northeast of the Galápagos archipelago to protected waters off a outside volcanic island eff as Cocos Island . There , the team observed more recondite - sea corals covered with eggs , according to the program line .
" These enthralling young finding continue to flow crucial inquiry to inform better direction of existing and future shipboard soldier protected region in the realm , " bank said .
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