Millions tuned into a livestream of rare deep-sea creatures off the coast of Argentina. This viral scientific mission even included a plump starfish resembling a beloved cartoon character.

Mar del Plata

Researchers conducting a deep-sea expedition in Argentina's Mar del Plata Canyon have livestreamed rare and possibly new species to a global audience using the remotely operated vehicle, ROV Sebastian. The livestream, a collaboration between the Schmidt Ocean Institute and scientific institutions from the U.S. and Argentina, attracted millions of viewers who watched for a combined 6.7 million hours.

Among the notable discoveries were a sea cucumber dubbed 'batata', a sea spider called Magnapodia, and the Hypasteria phrygiana starfish, which gained social media fame. The livestream allowed scientists and the public to observe these creatures alive in their natural habitat for the first time, providing valuable insights into deep-sea biodiversity and emphasizing the need for ocean conservation.

Rare deep-sea creatures find livestream fame

Scientists on an expedition to the deep sea earlier this month filmed this footage of rare sea creatures in Argentina's Mar del Plata Canyon, the first to actually live stream what their cameras were seeing with a remotely operated underwater vehicle called the ROV Sebastian. This is amazing for us. We are learning a lot about the organisms' behavior, where they live, how they interact. The few astonishing organisms that the researchers believe to be new to science include a sea cucumber dubbed batata, or sweet potato, and... Magnapodia, which is a sea spider. I have never seen anything like that. But it isn't just the scientists who are excited. The ROV Sebastian's livestream attracted millions of viewers who watched for a combined 6.7 million hours. The thing that I would probably say it might be the closest to is the moon landing and how it really captivated people's engagement, awareness, just learning and being able to see the deep ocean. Classrooms, dance clubs, and even bars across Argentina were showing the livestream to the public during the 20-day excursion, which was a collaboration among the Schmidt Ocean Institute and U.S. and Argentinian scientific institutions. The first step for conservation is to study and to know what we have in our sea. So if we don't know what we have, we can't conserve this place. One of the species that became a viral star was the Hypasteria phrygiana, or Trojan star, which found fame on social media for its formations that look like a bud. Some people on social media said it looked like Patrick Star, the starfish character in the animated TV show SpongeBob SquarePants. We were not expecting this kind of reaction of the public. Before this technology, scientists were only able to study these species by using dead specimens. But now, cameras are giving scientists a new glimpse into what these animals look like in real life, including their bright colors. I was looking for the nursery grounds where deep water skates lay their acacias. We saw for the first time the acacias in a coral garden, a beautiful coral garden. These deep-sea coral gardens come in all different shapes and sizes and are teeming with organisms the scientists suspect may be newly discovered but will take time to confirm. I realized there was this little pink snailfish. They are among the deepest living fish in the world. They're really gelatinous. Being able to have the fish that we likely think is a new species is really an exciting opportunity. The deep ocean, which includes areas that are deeper than 200 meters, covers more than 60% of the planet. It's also the least understood ecosystem on Earth, making expeditions like this one crucial. I think that what I'm getting is that people do care and they just want to see it. Our deep ocean is for all of us and science is for all of us.

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