The world's first inventory of sea and land animals around a group of freezing Antarctic islands has uncovered some 1,224 species, it was revealed today.

A team from the British Antarctic Survey and University of Hamburg spent seven weeks on board the research vessel RRS James Clark Ross studying life on the South Orkney Islands, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The survey - which saw experts combing the land, using scuba divers in the shallows and employing a special sledge with nets up to 1,500 metres long in waters around the island - revealed an area with more life than the Galapagos Islands, an area renowned for its unique species.

Five species were also found to be completely new to science, including marine 'woodlice' and moss-like animals.

Studies of animal life around Antarctica often uncover new species as little is known about the area.

'This abundance of life was completely unexpected for a location in the polar regions, previously perceived to be poor in biodiversity.'