By Kim Eun-ji

Scientists said they found several unidentified species during a three-week expedition in deep-sea waters off New Zealand.

“The survey confirmed our belief that the biological communities of the four deep-sea habitats would be different,” wrote biologist Malcolm Clark at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

The voyage covered 9,840 square kilometers in the Kermadec Ridge area with undersea mountains, canyons and volcanoes.

Some potential new species include “sea slug” (in a canyon 1,250 meters deep), “black dragonfish” and “coral, with a side of crab.”

“In order to ensure that deep-sea ecosystems do not suffer too much damage from things like bottom trawling or mineral extraction, we need to know what animals live there, and how vulnerable they are to impact,” said Clark.