Strange creatures with strange body shapes found from the ocean floor during the last marine survey. There are spiral transparent sea cucumber, fish flapping like a pair of large fins ear 'dumbo' elephant Walt Disney characters, and tube worms that eat the oil.

The report issued on Sunday (23/11) were recorded, 17,650 species living below 656 feet (approximately 200 m) above sea level, in places untouched by sunlight. These findings are the latest results from the 10-yearly census of marine animals.

"The parts of the ocean floor that we had a similar thought was very complex," said Robert S. Carney, an expert in oceanography from Louisiana State University and also a leading researcher on the ocean floor.

Thousands of sea species to survive in the ocean depths of darkness in a way to consume materials that decompose slowly sinking, including the bones of a whale. According to the report, oil and methane is also a source of energy for the inhabitants of this ocean floor.

With this report, researchers have found about 5600 new species in addition to 230,000 who have registered previously. They estimate the new species list found to increase a few thousand more before the month of October 2010, when the census will be completed. The scientists also claimed to have found 5722 species of living in extreme depths of the ocean, in waters deeper than 3280 feet (approximately 975 m).

"Basic ocean was regarded as a desert without inhabitants until recently; quite amazing to document more than 20,000 types of species in an area that was not supposed berkehidupan," said Jesse Ausubel of the Alfred P. Foundation Sloan, the sponsor of this census.

"Basic seas are areas least terjelajah on earth," he added. Scientists say there are currently estimated at more than a million marine species that are still unknown. Compare with the mainland, where biologists have registered about 1.5 million of flora and fauna.

More than 40 new coral species documented in the mountains on the ocean floor, and also brittlestar and anemones carpet area of the cities. Nearly 500 new species, ranging from single-cell creature to a large squid have been found in the depths of the plains and ocean trough.

One other important finding is that the 170 new species obtain energy from chemicals released from the holes in the bottom of the ocean. One of them is familia 'Yeti crab', which in fuzzy legs.

"In the Ocean of Atlantis, the researchers found 40 new species of a total of 1000 there," said Odd Aksel Bergstad, oceanography experts from the University of Bergen, Norway, who was in the Azores archipelago in an interview over the phone.

"I was surprised to find many of life on the ocean," he said. "In fact there is no good map for this area. Understanding the biological diversity we have here is very limited," he explained.

More than 2,000 scientists from 80 countries are working to catalog the species in the ocean. However, examining the seabed gap quite expensive and difficult because it requires the camera to extreme depths, sonar, and remote control vehicles which took 50,000 USD per day.

Once the census is completed, planned publication of three books: a survey of popular marine animals, and a second book with separate chapters for each working group, and the third focuses on biological diversity.