A joint Russian-German expedition has discovered a rich fauna deep under the Sea of Japan, overturning previous scientific beliefs, a representative of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Sea Biology Institute said.
The expedition, the first attempt to study the deep-water fauna off the coast of Russia's Primorye Territory in 60 years, involves 22 Russian and 9 German scientists. It began in the Sea of Japan on August 13, with research being conducted at a depth of 500 to 3,500 meters (1,640 - 11,500 feet).
"The scientists reported to us the preliminary results of their research. The first and the main thing they paid attention to was a rich fauna in the depths of the Sea of Japan, which the scientists managed to see for the first time with the help of underwater shooting," the expert said.
The discovery is important because many of the fauna species found in the Sea of Japan can be used to produce medicine, he said.
Earlier, scientists believed there were only a few animal species living deep under the Sea of Japan, the expert said, adding that the size of most of the newly discovered inhabitants of the sea does not exceed 1 centimeter (0.03 feet).
VLADIVOSTOK, August 24 (RIA Novosti)
