antarctica
zooillogix | March 21, 2008Researchers from New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research have discovered hundreds of potentially new species. Part of the International Polar Year survey program, the critters were hauled up from the briny depths around Antarctica. Among the 30,000 once living beings now in formaldehyde are huge sea spiders, jellyfish with 12-foot tentacles, enormous sea snails and starfish. The expedition was also made into a documentary entitled DeepStar Six...
Giant Macroptychaster sea star measuring 60 cm across
Antarctic toothfish (1.81 m long, 57 kg)
CR McClain from Deep…
zooillogix | May 21, 2007The Antarctic Benthic Deep-Sea Biodiversity Project (ANDEEP) has been working on an unprecedented project to document marine life near the bottom of the Antarctic Ocean. 80% of the isopods identified are entirely new species. Another species, foraminifera, single celled organisms with decorative shells, have also been identified in the waters beneath the North Pole. It is astonishing that these tiny creatures could find their way to the opposite sides of the earth, traveling through dramatically different environments along the way. "What was once thought to be a featureless abyss, is in fact…
grrlscientist | May 17, 2007tags: Antarctica, Weddell Sea, new species, ANDEEP, zoology
The scientists said an "astonishingly diverse" collection of isopods had been discovered. This young male isopod represents one of 674 isopod species found.
Image: W. Brokeland. [larger image]
According to a paper that was recently published, scientists have found more than 700 new species of marine creatures in seas surrounding Antarctica -- seas once thought too hostile to sustain such rich biodiversity. Fabulous creatures, such as carnivorous sponges, free-swimming worms, crustaceans and molluscs, were collected.
The…