Millions of species are thought to still exist in Earth’s oceans, which cover 70 percent of the planet.

Now scientists have announced they have discovered another 100, following an expedition in Bounty Trough, off the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island.

From a research vessel, the team lowered mesh nets to more than 15,000 feet to capture creatures lurking in the dark depths.

The new species identified there include dozens of molluscs, three fish, a shrimp, a cephalopod and a new coral species.

There is also one find – resembling a shriveled gray cauliflower – that ‘baffles’ marine biologists.

The new species was revealed by New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the Ocean Census project.

Voyage co-leader and NIWA marine biologist Sadie Mills said the expedition showed the Bounty Trough is thriving with life.

“We went to lots of different habitats and discovered a whole range of new species, from fish to snails, to corals and sea cucumbers – really interesting species that will be new to science,” she said.

The find that baffles experts is likely a new type of octocoral – a deep-sea organism known for its polyps with eight tentacles.

The tour team initially thought it could be a starfish, a sea anemone or another deep-sea creature called a zoanthid, but so far it has turned out to be neither.

“We have a lot of experts here who are very excited,” said Dr Michela Mitchell, taxonomist at the Queensland Museum.

‘We now think it could be a new species of octocoral, but also a new genus.

‘Even more exciting is that it could be a whole new group outside of the octocoral.

“If so, it is an important find for the deep sea and will give us a much clearer picture of the planet’s unique biodiversity.”

Another creature may be a new species of carnivorous chiton – a type of mollusk recognizable by their characteristic armored shells.

There is also a so-called eelpout: the bizarre fish with a ray fin that looks like an eel.

British marine biologist Professor Alex Rogers, who co-led the expedition, said he was impressed by the vast biodiversity of life they discovered.

“It appears we have a large number of new, undiscovered species,” he said.

‘By the time all our specimens have been examined, we will be over a hundred new species.

‘But what really surprises me here is the fact that this extends to animals like fish – we think we have three new species of fish.’

During the three-week voyage on NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa, almost 1,800 samples were collected from depths of 4,800 meters underwater along Bounty Trough.

Over the next three weeks, the team of scientists – including experts from Britain and Australia – will sort and describe the collected specimens.

Specimens will be housed at the NIWA Invertebrate Collection and the National Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, both in Wellington.

According to Andrew Stewart, curator of fish at Te Papa, there are likely many more species ‘waiting to be discovered’ on future expeditions.

“While our findings are significant, we know we have barely scratched the surface of the Bounty Trough,” he said.

The knowledge gained during the expedition will be included in future editions of the New Zealand Marine Biota NIWA Biodiversity Memoir.

YOU might have a high IQ if you can spot this camouflaged creature in seconds.

Set a timer and try to find the sneaky creature in this optical illusion.

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At first glance, the close-up portrait may appear to be just the bark of a tree.

However, if you look closer, you might see the animal hiding in plain sight.

This photo captured the leaf-tailed gecko in its native Madagascar, an island off the coast of southern Africa.

The gecko, also known as uroplatus henkeli, lives mainly in trees and only travels to the forest floor to lay its eggs, according to iNaturalistic.

It is only found in Madagascar, but can easily live and reproduce in captivity.

The leaf-tailed gecko is known for its skilled camouflage and comes out mainly at night to hunt for insects.

A fully grown leaf-tailed gecko can grow up to three inches long from nose to tail.

It is a popular pet, but harvesting of the geckos has damaged the natural environment in Madagascar.

The World Wide Fund for Nature named the gecko one of the ten most wanted series because it was targeted by illegal wildlife traffickers.

To combat this problem, protected areas have been set up in the forest where they can live freely.

If you still can't see the gecko, scroll down for an answer to the illusion.

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Also try to spot the snake among the turtles in less than eight seconds to see if you have a high IQ.

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You might just see a group of happy turtles at first, but look again and you'll find the slippery creature.

If you can't find the hose, scroll down for the solution.

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A monstrous creature is hidden in plain sight on top of the broken tree bark, but it can be tricky to spot.

You could have an ultra-high IQ if you can find the long spinneret spin high in this optical illusion.

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According to Spider identificationthe eight-legged creature, also called the two-tailed spider, often resides on tree trunks and rocky surfaces.

These arachnid hunters use their speed to catch their prey.

Their brown, nature-like outer pattern camouflages them, making them sneaky and difficult to find.

But you have the eyes of a hawk.

The broken bark, which can be confused with other insects, hides the deadly beast.

All eight legs spin their webs and prepare to catch their unsuspecting prey.

This spider isn't that small, is it?

You have 10 seconds.

Time is ticking, so don't wait!

Need a clue?

The creature is an air-breathing anthropod with poisonous fangs.

Haven't found the creepy crawly yet?

He sits right in the middle of the tree and his eyes look straight at you the whole time.

While I have you in the web of illusions, let's do some more brain teasers.

Can you spot the two animals hidden on this rocky cliff?

You are a genius if you can find the three apples among all the tomatoes in the garden.

If you can spot the five acorns hidden among the prehistoric animals, you have 20/20 vision.

Only the top 1% can see the hare in this optical illusion.

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NEW evidence suggests megalodon sharks looked very different from the giant great white sharks depicted in science fiction films.

Recent research suggests that the shark, which lived about 15 to 3.6 million years ago, was actually longer and leaner than other studies claim.

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Most of what we know about megalodon sharks comes from giant fossilized teeth.

No fully fossilized specimen of the ancient beast has ever been found.

That's probably because shark skeletons are mainly made of cartilage that decays quickly.

For this reason, scientists must estimate what the shark would have looked like.

Previous studies estimated that megalodons could grow up to 20 meters in length.

Modern great white sharks have largely been used as models to estimate the megalodon's body shape.

a new study published in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica now challenges this idea.

Kenshu Shimada is a professor of paleobiology at DePaul University and co-leader of the study.

Shimada said: “The remarkably simple evidence that O. megalodon had a more slender body than the great white shark was hidden in plain sight.”

The researchers reanalyzed fossils and previously published studies to draw their conclusions.

They focused mainly on two studies describing the same incomplete set of fossilized megalodon shark vertebrae.

One study said that the vertebral length of this particular ancient shark was 11 meters.

The other claimed it was only 30 feet long.

“It was a 'eureka moment' when our research team realized the discrepancy between the two previously published lengths for the same Megalodon specimen,” Shimada explained.

“The new study strongly suggests that the body shape of O. megalodon was not just a larger version of the modern great white shark,” said co-leader Phillip Sternes.

“While it remains uncertain exactly how long the body of O. megalodon was elongated relative to the great white shark, this new finding marks a major scientific breakthrough in the quest to decipher what Megalodon looked like.”

Shimada described the hunt for the truth about megalodon sharks as an “ongoing mystery” that is both “fascinating and exciting.”

• An adorable three-week-old seal pup has been rescued on Nantucket Island after kind strangers found him in the middle of the road
• The 'spirited' seal was rescued by a local animal charity on Wednesday and returned to the water on Friday
• Seal rescues are common on the island at this time of year, following the pupping season from November to January

By Alice Wright for Dailymail.Com

Published: 4:45 PM EST, January 13, 2024 | Updated: 5:00 PM EST, January 13, 2024

By Shannon McGuigan

Published: 07:41 EST, January 9, 2024 | Updated: 07:58 EST, January 9, 2024

Ben Goldsmith has revealed that his younger children see his late daughter Iris – who in 2019 tragically passed away in an ATV accident on the family farm aged 15 – as a ‘mythological creature’ and guardian angel.

Speaking to FEMAIL, the wealthy British financier, 42, candidly opened up about the teenager’s legacy and how he’s immortalising her love of nature in the Iris Project – an initiative that helps fund and support young climate activists around the world.

Ben has seven children. He had three with his ex-wife Kate: Iris, Frank and Isaac. In 2014, he married restaurateur Jemima Jones and the pair have since had four kids: Eliza, Arlo, Vita and Vincent – who is eight months old.

The father-of-seven, who just last year welcomed his youngest, Vincent (known as ‘Vinny’), said that his kids continue to be inspired by Iris.

And some are even getting involved in the environmental project set up in their sister’s name.

‘I think, that they themselves are interested in devoting their lives to environmental work,’ he explained.

‘I think they love the idea that in Iris’s name, we’re helping teenagers around the world to do the kinds of things that Iris will never have the chance to do.

‘In fact, my older son Frankie, is going to go and work with one of our prize winners in Bali…He’s studying engineering, and he’s going to go and be an engineer on the team.’

Ben added that being committed to the project work ‘gives them comfort’. 

However, his ‘little ones’ – ranging in age from less than a year old to around seven – ‘don’t really know about’ the organisation. 

‘Iris is a kind of mythological creature for them,’ he explained.

‘They don’t remember her fully, and they don’t fully understand where she’s gone. 

‘They just know that she’s gone to heaven. They don’t know where that is.’

Ben says that they see her as a ‘guardian angel’ and ‘dream about her’. 

‘I think, as they grow up, they’ll come to appreciate this Iris prize, and I think they’ll want to be involved in it as well,’ he added.

Iris, a dazzling 15-year-old and the eldest of Ben’s seven children, died on his 280-acre Cannwood Farm estate in Somerset in July 2019.

She was playing around in an off-road farm vehicle when it lost balance, flipped over and pinned her to the ground.

The friend, who had been riding with her, was unhurt, but the vehicle was too heavy for her to lift.

By the time a distraught Ben, who was playing cricket with friends and family at Charterhouse public school in Surrey, arrived an hour later, Iris had died.

He and Iris’s mother Kate Rothschild are now separated, but have both established the Iris Project in memory of their daughter, which identifies and helps the most promising young environmentalists around the world.

The first three winners were awarded funding and mentorship last September. 

The author – who has recently released the book God Is An Octopus, recounting his thoughts on grief and nature – says there is ‘nothing he wouldn’t give’ to see what Iris could have achieved herself. 

‘She would have been a highly professional young woman, doing amazing things,’ he said.

‘We won’t ever get to see that. But I think it’s some consolation if we can help other young people of the same generation to fulfill their dreams.’

But Ben thinks Iris would have ‘loved’ the project set up in her name – because it captures her curious and collaborative spirit.

‘She was so gregarious and so open-hearted,’ he explained. ‘She had such a wide circle of friends, and she was so interested in other people’s lives and other people’s projects.

‘And she was such a ring leader. I think she would have been overjoyed to meet and know these young winners we have, and the young runners up.

‘And I think she would be enthusiastic about their projects, and she would feel a desire to help them.’

Recalling on his brilliant’s daughter achievements, Ben says it’s the perfect homage to the kind of work she would have done in the world.

‘Iris was a really brilliant girl, really, from her youngest years – she was always a step ahead,’ he fondly recounted.

An emotional Ben also remembered a time in which Iris showed her soft and sweet nature when it came to animals as she sent her father a video.

‘She was outside with her phone one day with her pony, and a huge flock of starlings rose up from the field. 

‘And she just got her phone out and was like, “Look, I’ll go over to them now”.

‘And she filmed this huge flock of birds fly up… And this video, which I look at from time to time, really sums up, that she had the same love for nature that I have.’

‘She was like that from her youngest years, and if we found a grass snake, she was very happy to carry it.

‘She she was very gentle with animals. She was just a very connected child in terms of her relationship with nature.’

He continued: ‘I felt a strong conviction that she would go on to do great things. I didn’t know what, necessarily.

‘But I always felt they would be something to do with nature and the environment, because this is where she spent all her free time.

‘She was a little child of the woods, you know. She was always outside.

‘And so we’ll never know what wonderful and and brilliant things she would have done.

‘And and I guess that’s why we want to help teenagers around the world by way of this Iris prize to fulfill their own dreams and to do amazing things in their communities.

‘I think Iris would have loved it.’

theirisproject.org