Scientists have explored five pristine coral reefs off the coast of Scotland.
Found a mile deep, hidden amongst an underwater mountain range in Rockall Trough, the reefs were uncovered by scientists monitoring the area 200 miles off the coast of North West Scotland.
The "spectacular" reefs, located outside of traditional fishing areas, included dense groups of metre-high sea fan corals that are believed to have taken centuries to form. The scientists hope the information they have gathered can be used to gain the reefs protection as Special Areas of Conservation.
Formed by hard corals, four of the reefs were found around an extinct underwater volcano known as the Anton Dohrn Seamount, while the fifth lies off Rockall Bank.
By launching high-tech cameras off a research vessel commissioned by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the scientists were able to shoot 50 hours of film and take over 3000 still photographs revealing the huge biodiversity on the reefs.
"It could be the most significant coral reef found in recent years because of the diversity of animals that we found, Neil Golding, Offshore Survey Manager for JNCC, told the Telegraph. There are hundreds of species down there and possibly even more that we have never heard of before.
It is wonderful to drop a camera down and see this, said Dr Kerry Howell of Plymouth University. We were working deeper than we have ever worked before and saw some things we hadn't seen previously.
To find what we did in such pristine condition was amazing. Other reefs we have filmed have been damaged. But these really were untouched and full of life, which is probably due to the depth and a terrain that is no good for fishing.