5,000 deep-sea animals new to science turned up in ocean records

The animals live in a zone partly promised to companies for mining exploration

A photo of a clear glass container with a white sea cucumber floating in a clear liquid. Other clear glass containers are sitting on the table behind the sea cucumber with out of focus books on shelves in the background.

Researchers know of only an estimated 10 percent of the animals, like this preserved sea cucumber, that live in a deep-sea ecosystem in the Pacific Ocean that’s targeted for mining exploration.

Trustees of the Natural History Museum London

More than 5,000 animal species previously unknown to science live in a pristine part of the deep sea.