Mysterious holes discovered on ocean floor baffle scientists

It's unknown what caused the holes on the ocean floor. Photo / Supplied

Unexplained and mysterious holes discovered on the ocean floor have baffled scientists.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has put the call out for internet sleuths to help crack the mystery.

The unique indentations were discovered as part of the "Voyage to the Ridge 2022", three telepresence-enabled ocean exploration expeditions on NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer.

The holes appear to have been excavated by something — or someone — and are in an eerily straight line.

The scientific agency is conducting mapping operations and remotely-operated vehicle dives in areas of the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone, Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and Azores Plateau in the North Atlantic Ocean.

"Okay Facebookers, time to get out those scientist hats!" NOAA posted on Facebook.

"On Saturday's Okeanos dive, we observed several of these sublinear sets of holes in the sediment.

"These holes have been previously reported from the region, but their origin remains a mystery.

The strange holes on the ocean floor. Photo / Supplied

"While they look almost human-made, the little piles of sediment around the holes make them seem like they were excavated by ... something.

"What's your hypothesis?"

The fun challenge has sparked a lot of responses — and the internet is on the case.

"I'm not saying that it's aliens, but it's aliens," one person quipped.

Another person suggested the cause could be bubble holes, with the resulting sediment from organic breakdowns or seismic pressures along plates.

"A previously unknown crab species which hides in rectangular holes and hunts in linear packs, waiting for prey to fall into their clutches," another person suggested.

One commenter wrote, "This to me looks like the sediment is falling through, or water flowing up from a crack in a geological shelf or cave roof.

"I suspect either ancient coral or some sedimentary rock structure underneath has a void for which material is being washed out further away. I would start to see if there was any caves or deformation in the seabed."