Hundreds of new marine species discovered in 'rainforests of the deep' off Australia

Hundreds of new marine species and previously uncharted undersea mountains and canyons have been discovered in the Southern Ocean off Australia.

Scientists said 274 species of fish, ancient corals, molluscs, crustaceans and sponges were found in icy waters at a depth of 9,800ft off the island of Tasmania.

Researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) found a rare species of stingray and 2,000-year-old corals along with 274 species new to science at two reserves in the Southern Ocean.

Mountains 1,500ft high and canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon were mapped for the first time.

The mounts are the remnants of extinct volcanoes and are some of the most biologically important habitats in our oceans.

Professor Nic Bax from CSIRO described the 123 sea mounts as the 'rainforests of the deep'.

'When we went down and saw the number of sea mounts which were there, we were really surprised,' he added.