New Deep-Sea Species Revealed, thanks to James Cameron

When James Cameron took a submersible to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean last year, we were all astonished (in part because we didn't know he did more awesome things and that directing movies was his "side thing"). In a real, completely serious sense, he found a new way to inspire our imaginations. The bottom of the ocean is an almost complete mystery. We barely understand its topography; we know there are mountains, for example, but what lives on their slopes? The underwater space on our planet remains overwhelmingly unexplored and, until recently, inaccessible.

Until James Cameron took his dive. He was the high-profile explorer we needed to propel the ocean into a media spotlight. Of the many hours of footage he took on his dive, most of it has only been seen by researchers, but the results of these limited viewings are already very exciting. They appear to show a new species of sea cucumber living at what seems an impossible depth: 36,000 feet. While we often have imagined only microbes living at the bottom of the ocean, there is now proof of unknown species making their home in the depths.

An example of a sea cucumber that lives at a normal depth

Hopefully he'll compile some footage into a documentary soon!