GUANGZHOU, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have discovered a new plankton species in the South China Sea, sources with the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under the China Academy of Sciences said on Monday.

The new species lives in the water of 1,500 to 2,600 meters deep. It feeds on organic detritus, and is fluorescent, said Yin Jianqiang, a research fellow with the institute.

The species was found in trenches near the Nansha Islands, an area with high tropical maritime biological diversity.

Chinese scientists started research near the Nansha Islands in 1984.