Photos: 'Lost World' of Unknown Species Discovered on Dark Antarctic Seafloor (PHOTOS)

By Kukil Bora | Jan 04, 2012 07:28 AM EDT

Researchers from the University of Oxford, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre, and the British Antarctic Survey have discovered new communities of species on the seafloor near Antarctica.

The species, found clustered in the hot and dark environment surrounding hydrothermal vents, had remained unknown to science thus far, researchers said.

The underwater plumes, discovered between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula, include new species of a hairy-chested "yeti" crab, predatory seven-legged seastar, barnacles, sea anemones and ghostly-looking octopus.

This was the first time researchers used a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) called Isis to explore the East Scotia Ridge deep beneath the Southern Ocean.

In this region, hydrothermal vents, including "black smokers" reaching temperatures of up to 382 degrees Celsius, create a unique environment. They lack sunlight but are rich in certain chemicals, say scientists.

"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," says Professor Alex Rogers of Oxford University's Department of Zoology, who led the research.

"It was a remarkable experience. You're not quite sure if these things are mineral or biological structures. That's a very unusual feeling to see all this stuff for the first time and saying I don't understand what's going on here."

The discoveries came during a January and February 2010 expedition to the region. However, it took almost two years to get them published because there were so many undescribed species that the team of researchers had to send samples to experts around the world for identification, the Discovery News reported.

According to Cindy Van Dover, director of the Duke University Marine Laboratory, the discovery of dense populations of crabs related to the "yeti" crab is especially intriguing. "This family of crabs was discovered in 2005 at hot springs in the southeastern Pacific -- there must be an evolutionary link between the two regions," says Dover.

Check out the images of the unknown species below:

An unidentified pale octopus nearly 2,400 metres down on the seafloor.

Source: University of Oxford

(A) Actinostolid sea anemones surrounded by cf. Vulcanolepas on a chimney with diffuse hydrothermal venting (Dive 138, 2,396 m depth). (B) Dense field of actinostolid sea anemones along with peltospiroid gastropods (Dive 140, 2,394 m depth). (C) Anemone field at E9 with juvenile Kiwa n. sp. interspersed (Dive 139, 2,398 m depth). (D) Undescribed peltospiroid gastropod at E2 surrounding single Kiwa n. sp. and partially covered by Lepetodrilus n. sp. The pycnogonid cf. Sericosura is at the bottom right of the image (Dive 132, 2,608 m depth). (E) An undescribed seven-arm sea star predatory on the stalked barnacles cf. Vulcanolepas at E9 (Dive 139, 2,402 m depth). (F) Unidentified octopus (Dive 144, 2,394 m depth). Scale bars: 10 cm for foreground.

Source: PLoS Biology

(A) Active black smoker chimneys (Dive 128, 2,602 m depth). (B) Vent flange at E2 with trapped high-temperature reflective hydrothermal fluid (Dive 129, 2,621 m depth). (C) Microbial mat covering rock surfaces on vent periphery (Dive 134, 2,604 m depth). (D) Active vent chimney supporting the new species of the anomuran crab Kiwa. (Dive 144, 2,396 m depth). (E) Dense mass of the anomuran crab Kiwa with the stalked barnacle cf. Vulcanolepas attached to nearby chimney (Dive 138, 2,397 m depth). Scale bars: 10 cm for foreground.

Source: PLoS Biology

‘Lost World’ of Unknown Species Discovered on Dark Antarctic Seafloor

Source: PLoS Biology