China's deep-sea manned sub Jiaolong forced to surface after engine failure

China's sub finds mysterious deep-sea living beings

Photo/Xinhua

ABOARD THE XIANGYANGHONG 09 - China's manned deep sea submersible, the Jiaolong, collected 17 items of deep-sea living beings from the seabed of the southwestern Indian Ocean on Wednesday, and two of them were unknown for scientists aboard the vessel.

With a size similar to a regular sea cucumber, the first mysterious creature broke into three parts when it was taken to the vessel.

Since the living being was transparent, scientists could see its blue and brown viscera clearly.

"This might be a special kind of sea cucumber, but we need to make sure after further analysis in labs," said Lu Bo, a scientist with the Second Institute of Oceanography of the State Oceanic Administration.

Looking like a small pink snake, the second weird creature, which is 330 centimeters long and three centimeters wide, is completely unknown for the scientists.

Two bubbles appeared in its body, due to pressure change, said the scientists.

"These two living beings might be new species but we can't be certain with limited tools and data on the ship," Lu Bo said.

Additionally, the Jiaolong gathered 15 deep-sea shrimps, water and sulfide weighing 6.9 kilograms.

Reaching the maximum depth of 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench in June 2012, the Jiaolong is on a 120-day expedition to study polymetallic sulfide, biological diversity, hydrothermal microbes and genetic resources in the southwest Indian Ocean.