A deep-sea survey expedition using advanced robotic submersibles at depths between 4,500 and 6,000 meters in the Pacific Ocean has documented organisms that preliminary taxonomic analysis suggests may represent multiple previously unknown animal groups at the phylum level, the highest taxonomic rank below kingdom. The discovery, if confirmed through genetic analysis currently underway, would be the most significant expansion of the known animal tree of life since the Cambrian fauna were first comprehensively described.
The samples are being analyzed at several institutions simultaneously to complete genetic characterization before formal species descriptions are published. Deep-sea biologists caution that initial morphological assessments of novel deep-sea organisms have previously suggested extraordinary taxonomic novelty that was subsequently revised when genetic data revealed affinities with known groups. The current samples are being treated with appropriate scientific caution while the research team prepares for the possibility of genuinely extraordinary findings.
