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  2. Newly Discovered Antarctic Marine Life Attacks and Consumes Researchers

Newly Discovered Antarctic Marine Life Attacks and Consumes Researchers

By zooillogix on March 21, 2008.

Researchers 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...

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Giant Macroptychaster sea star measuring 60 cm across

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Antarctic toothfish (1.81 m long, 57 kg)

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CR McClain from Deep Sea News tells us that this woman led the expedition.

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The expedition ended memorably.

Credit to Mark Devlin for making us get off our lazy asses and post this.

Tags
antarctica
deep sea creatures
deep sea spider
echinoderm
deep sea
International Polar Year
marine life
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

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And I thought I was the only one who remembered Deep Star Six...

20 points for the Deep Star Six reference. The Australian Trumpet Shell (although I can never figure out if you guys are just being cheeky) is not from the expedition. Rather its from Australia and Indonesia and just a cool, and very large, gastropod. Perhaps post wasn't clear.

Why'd they need so many samples?
It may be for research but they sound a lot like the Japanese and their whale research BS.

You guys are great and undeniably cute as lemurs, but I do feel like you missed the weirdest critters from this research trip. I trackback because I care.