Scientists Photograph Pink ‘Barbie Pigs’ Among New Species in Pacific Ocean

Pesala Bandara
barbie pig underwater species
The scientists photographed new species unknown to science, such as this sea pig named the “Barbie pig” due to its hot pink colour and tiny “feet”.

Scientists photographed never-before-seen underwater species including pink “Barbie Pigs” during a deep-sea expedition.

An international team of Natural History Museum (NHM) scientists spent the last few weeks exploring the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean as part of the latest SMARTEX expedition to the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ).

A beautifully delicate glass sponge spends its life filtering out nutrients from the never-ending fall of marine snow.
The scientists photographed this beautifully delicate glass sponge which spends its life filtering out nutrients from the never-ending fall of marine snow.
A brisingid sea star sitting on a sponge stalk to raise its arms into the water to catch falling food.
A brisingid sea star sitting on a sponge stalk to raise its arms into the water to catch falling food.
A see-through sea cucumber nicknamed the “unicumber"
A see-through sea cucumber nicknamed the “unicumber.”

The team’s mission was to discover the species that were living 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) beneath the surface.

And the scientists discovered several strange and curious species that are “new to science” during the deep sea expedition — including rattail fish, unicumbers, glass sponges, and pink Amperima sea pigs that have now been formally named “Barbie pigs.”

An other-worldly glass sponge growing on the sea floor.
An other-worldly glass sponge growing on the sea floor.
A large, branching bryozoan using one of the polymetallic nodules as a surface on which to grow.
A large, branching bryozoan using one of the polymetallic nodules as a surface on which to grow.
An abyssal sea anemone growing in a manganese-encrusted reef.
An abyssal sea anemone growing in a manganese-encrusted reef.

The astonishing animals have now been captured on camera for the first time ever in incredible photos.

“We can assume that many of these species will be new to science,” Regan Drennan, a post-doctoral marine biologist at London NHM, tells IFLScience..

“Sometimes they have been seen/observed/known before, but not collected or formally described. For example, the sea pig nicknamed the unicumber had been seen in previous seabed imagery surveys, but not collected or imaged in high definition to the best of our knowledge.”

Sea stars with whip-like limbs
Sea stars with whip-like limbs are picture here.
A worm-like tanaid, which are a group of crustaceans living on the sea floor.
A worm-like tanaid, which are a group of crustaceans living on the sea floor.
This rattail fish is among the few vertebrates that can survive in these depths despite the extreme pressure.

University of Southampton PhD student Bethany Fleming coined the name “Barbie pig” for the hot pink alien-like species with sausage-like fingers after the team of scientists watched the Barbie movie on the plane together.

“All the specimens that have been collected will be brought back to the museum, where they will be identified and studied by the researchers here,” Eva Stewart, a post-doctoral marine biologist based at the NHM, tells IFLScience.

“Some may be described as new species, and lots of the specimens will be used for research looking at patterns of diversity across the seafloor in this area.”

 
Image credits: All photos by © SMARTEX Project, NERC.

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