<p><strong>An unidentified purple octopus (pictured) is one of 11 potentially new species found this month during a deep-sea expedition off Canada's Atlantic coast, scientists say.</strong></p><p>(Related <a id="r_t6" title="&quot;Surprising Creatures Found Deep off Australia.&quot;" href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/07/photogalleries/100716-deep-sea-species-sharks-australia-science-pictures/#deepest-ocean-species-camera-australia-shark_23473_600x450.jpg">pictures: "Surprising Creatures Found Deep off Australia."</a>)</p><p>Still at sea, a team of Canadian and Spanish researchers is using a remotely operated vehicle called <a id="n-d." title="ROPOS" href="http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/technology/subs/ropos/ropos.html">ROPOS</a> for dives off <a id="fjpp" title="Newfoundland" href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/provinces/province_newfoundland.html">Newfoundland</a> with a maximum depth of about 9,800 feet (3,000 meters).</p><p>The 20-day expedition aims to uncover relationships between cold-water <a id="q.39" title="coral" href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/coral/">coral</a> and other bottom-dwelling creatures in a pristine yet "alien" environment, according to the <a id="upyx" title="researchers' blog" href="http://hudson0292010.blogspot.com/2010/07/first-site.html">researchers' blog</a>.</p><p>"It's been really spectacular," Ellen Kenchington, research scientist with the Fisheries Department of Canada—one of the organizations involved in the project—told Canada's <a title="CTV News" href="http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/SciTech/20100717/nl-new-marine-species-100717/">CTV News</a> website.</p><p>"It's really changing our perception of the diversity that's out there. ... We're seeing new species in deeper waters."</p>