Researchers in the Caribbean made a surprising discovery when they dropped a camera over one kilometre deep during an expedition off Little Cayman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s time to close you in little guy,\u201d the scientists can be heard saying in a 2024\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0video as they put the GoPro into its waterproof case ready to drop into the water. \u201cBehave down there.\u201d<\/p>\n The team deployed deep-sea baited remote underwater video systems (dBRUVS) as a way of studying the biodiversity in the deep sea.\u00a0When the camera reached a depth of 1,054 metres, it recorded multiple roughskin dogfish (Centroscymnus owstonii).<\/p>\n Watch the roughskin dogfish as it investigates the baited camera. Credit: Olivia F. L. Dixon et al.<\/p>\n The discovery was published in the\u00a0Journal of Fish Biology<\/a>. This is \u201cthe first sighting of this species in the central Caribbean Sea,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0lead author Olivia Dixon, a researcher at the non-profit\u00a0Beneath The Waves<\/a>.<\/p>\n The deep-sea is \u201cone of Earth\u2019s least explored regions,\u201d she added, and understanding how species are spread across different locations is important if we are to protect animals and their habitats in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n More amazing stories from around the world<\/p>\n Image and video credits: Lead author Olivia F. L. Dixon and co-authors Shannon E. Aldridge, Johanna K. Kohler, Anne Veeder, Paul Chin, Teresa F. Fernandes, Timothy Austin, Rupert F. Ormond, Mauvis A. Gore, Diego F. B. Vaz, Austin J. Gallagher. The research was led by Beneath The Waves with collaboration from the Department of Environment from the Cayman Islands and support from Darwin Plus Initiative\u00a0and GoPro.\u00a0<\/p>\n