New species in Galapagos Island
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Environment
- Published
20th Aug, 2020
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- An international team of marine scientists have discovered 30 new species of invertebrates in deep water surrounding the Galapagos.
- The deep-sea experts discovered fragile coral and sponge communities including 10 bamboo corals, four octocorals, one brittle star and 11 sponges etc. at the Galapagos National Park.
- These discoveries include the first giant solitary soft coral known for the Tropical Eastern Pacific, a new genus of glass sponge that can grow in colonies of over one meter in width and, colourful sea fans that host a myriad of associated species.
- In 1978, the islands became UNESCO’s first World Heritage Site.
- Galápagos Islands and their surrounding waters form the Galápagos National Park and the Galápagos Marine Reserve.
- The Galápagos Islands, spread over almost 60,000 sq. km, is a volcanic archipelago in Pacific Ocean.
- The islands are formed at the meeting point of three tectonic plates—the Nazca, Cocos, and Pacific.
