Researchers in Europe have carried out what they claim is the first comprehensive "inventory" of sea and land animals in the white continent and found a region that's not only rich in biodiversity but has more species than the Galapagos.

Using a combination of trawl nets, sampling as deep as 1500 metres and scuba divers, a team from British Antarctic Survey and Hamburg University in Germany found 1,200 species, a third of which were not thought to live in the region.

These include sea urchins, free-swimming worms, mites, crustaceans, molluscs and birds. And, the researchers also identified five new species, the latest issue of 'Journal of Biogeography' reported.

In fact, the majority of animals were found in the sea with most living on the seabed.

According to lead author David Barnes from BAS, "This is the first time anybody has done an inventory like this in the Polar Regions. It's part of the Census of Marine Life – an international effort to assess and explain the diversity and distribution of marine life in the world's oceans.

"If we are to understand how these animals will respond to future change, a starting point like this is really important."