Team finds 10 new species in hidden depths

A group of creatures thought to reveal an evolutionary link between backboned and invertebrate animals are among those captured by the MAR-ECO research team.

Many other samples of rare animals were collected on the six-week voyage aboard the research ship James Cook.

Details of the trip were revealed by scientists at the University of Aberdeen, who are leading the UK contribution to the project exploring marine life along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between Iceland and the Azores.

Using the UK's deepest diving, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to reach depths of between 700m and 3,600m, they focused on the area beneath the cold waters north of the Gulf Stream and the warmer waters to the south.

Professor Monty Priede, director of the University of Aberdeen's Oceanlab, said: "This expedition has revolutionised our thinking about deep-sea life in the Atlantic Ocean."