Western Australia’s famed Ningaloo Coast is hiding secrets in deep underwater canyons, with researchers discovering species previously unknown to the area in their depths, and others thought to be entirely new to science. Researchers surveyed the Cape Range and Cloates submarine canyons, about 1200 kilometres north of Perth, collecting more than 1000 samples from the surface all the way down to the sea floor more than 4500 metres below. The research uncovered traces of giant squid off the coast of WA. This photo of the rarely seen sea creature was captured by Japanese researchers in 2006. TSUNEMI KUBODERA, NATIONAL SCIE Using environmental DNA (eDNA) – genetic material naturally shed by animals into seawater – scientists on the expedition, led by the WA Museum on board the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor, were able to document what lurked in the deep sea without needing to see or capture the creatures.…