Natural History Museum researchers find 39 potential new species at bottom of ocean using robot

Think you know what lurks beneath you when you take a dip in the ocean? Scientists have discovered 39 species that are'potentially new to science', while exploring up to 16,700 feet (5,100 metres) underwater. A robot was sent down to the abyssal plains of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the central Pacific Ocean - one of the least explored regions of the world - to collect specimens of deep sea creatures. The researchers, from the Natural History Museum in London, recovered 39 brand new species of megafauna as well as nine known species. Amongst those found were spindly starfish, tulip-shaped sea sponges, prickly urchins and'gummy squirrel' sea cucumbers.