New type of octopus found in Antarctic. Photo: Oxford Univ.
Some of these creatures are pretty sci-fi! From Fox News:
A “lost world” of sea creatures was discovered near Antarctica, British scientists announced Wednesday.
New types of yeti crab, starfish and octopus were among the species found 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) below the surface of the sea, Oxford University researchers said.
The new life-forms were able to exist by feeding off chemicals from black smoke emitted by volcanic hot vents beneath the Southern Ocean, where temperatures can reach 720 degrees Fahrenheit (382 degrees Celsius).
“Hydrothermal vents are home to animals found nowhere else on the planet that get their energy not from the Sun but from breaking down chemicals, such as hydrogen sulphide,” according to Oxford University professor Alex Rogers, who led the research…
[continues at Fox News]
