Robotic cameras lowered into the depths off Australia's Great Barrier Reef have revealed spectacular views of the inhabitants, including many believed to be new species. New high-tech imaging devices gave the first clear views of marine life over two kilometers down.
Some of those pictured in the title link include a brilliant red jellyfish of the genus Atolla, hatchetfish and angler fish, and the nightmarish viperfish. Other animals spotted include countless invertebrates, many of them unknown to science, and large six-gilled sharks, ancient predators whose kind saw the great marine reptiles and the the monster Megalodon come and go. One researcher said, "We simply do not know what life is down there...One of the things that we're trying to do by looking at the life in the deep sea is discover what's there in the first place, before we wipe it out."