Thought It Was a Shell... New Species of Unicellular Organism Discovered in the Deep Pacific Ocean

Discovered Near Offshore Blocks Between North America and Hawaii
Shells Formed or Perfect Spherical Shapes... "Amazing Diversity"
May Play Important Role in Marine Ecosystems
Experts Warn "Rushing Deep-Sea Mining Could Destroy Ecosystems"

Newly discovered unicellular organism 'Abyssalis spherica' in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean / Photo by Twitter capture

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] Four large unicellular organisms were discovered in the deep Pacific Ocean. They were confirmed to be entirely new species that had never been found before.

A joint research team from the UK's National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the University of Hawaii, and the University of Geneva in Switzerland recently published a paper in the UK electronic thesis database 'ScienceDirect' titled "Discovery of Four New Large Unicellular Organisms in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific."

In 2018, the research team deployed an underwater drone in the Pacific CCZ, located between the US mainland and the Hawaiian Islands. The drone discovered and collected these organisms from the seabed at a depth of 3 miles (approximately 4.8 km) below the surface. The study revealed that these organisms were previously unknown new species.

Most of them were found to create their own shells and live hidden inside. An organism named 'Moanamyna semicircularis' builds a fan-shaped shell, stands it upright on the seabed, and lives inside it. Another organism named 'Abyssalia polyphemus' also lives inside a flat, leaf-shaped shell.

On the other hand, some organisms live without shells. A unicellular organism named 'Abyssalis spherica' has an almost perfect spherical shape and a body made of sponge-like material.

Andrew Gooday, a professor at NOC and the lead author of the paper, said, "I am very pleased to have discovered new unicellular organisms," explaining that "unicellular organisms are the most common form of life found in the deep CCZ."

He added, "The diversity of unicellular organisms is truly remarkable," and "we always see organisms of different shapes and sizes everywhere on the seabed."

Some unicellular organisms have been found to live inside shells of various shapes such as fans and leaves. / Photo by Twitter capture

Professor Gooday speculated, "These unicellular organisms likely play a very important role in the CCZ ecosystem," and "they may also serve as prey for other organisms."

He further added, "Much more research is needed to fully understand the impact of seabed mining on the entire marine ecosystem and environment."

The CCZ, where these organisms were found, is an area of about 75,000 km² located in the northeastern Pacific between Hawaii and the North American continent, known to be home to various seabed organisms.

In particular, according to an environmental survey by the University of Hawaii research team in 2016, half of the deep-sea organisms found near the mining sites on the deep seabed in this area were confirmed to be entirely new species.

Meanwhile, countries including South Korea, China, Russia, Japan, and Germany currently hold exclusive mining rights in this area. These mining sites contain numerous 'manganese nodules,' which include important resources for advanced industries such as nickel, manganese, copper, and cobalt.

However, some scientists and environmental groups have raised concerns that indiscriminate mining in these sites could seriously impact the marine ecosystem and environment.

In July 2018, more than 50 environmental civic groups sent a letter to the International Seabed Authority warning that "deep-sea mining could cause irreversible destruction of the marine ecosystem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.