The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship Okeianos Explorer has spent the last three weeks searching marine sanctuaries in the Pacific ocean around American Samoa to catalog the life forms in the region.

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The 2017 American Samoa Expedition studies the three different marine sanctuaries in the American Samoan region. These marine sanctuaries are the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, the National Marine Sanctuary of American Somoza, and the oceanic area around the National Park of American Samoa.

This is the first study of the diversity of life around the coral and deep-water reefs and the hydro-thermal vent communities in the American Samoa region.

Venus Flytrap Sea Anemone

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Chrysogorgiid Octocorals and Brittle Sea Star

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Rhopalonematid Trachymedusa

A UFO-like translucent jellyfish.

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Armored Searobin

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An Unnamed Hydroid

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Brisingid Sea Star

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Scorpionfish

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Source and Full Article

Here Are Most Incredible Life Forms NOAA Found on Its Latest Deep Sea Dive, 2 March 2017

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