Feb 16, 2021 17:00:00

An unknown creature is discovered under 900m thick ice in Antarctica

On February 15, 2021, the

British Antarctic Research Expedition (BAS), which was investigating in Antarctica, reported that it had discovered several new species in the sea about 1200 m below the ice shelf . The organism is a species of about several centimeters including sponges, and few species that live in such a harsh environment have been found so far, and researchers say that they will start detailed investigation.

Discovery of life beneath Antarctica's ice shelves --British Antarctic Survey
https://www.bas.ac.uk/media-post/discovery-of-life-beneath-antarcticas-ice-shelves/

Frontiers | Breaking All the Rules: The First Recorded Hard Substrate Sessile Benthic Community Far Beneath an Antarctic Ice Shelf | Marine Science
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.642040/full

Accidental discovery of extreme life --YouTube


BAS research teams have discovered a new species of organism in the waters beneath the Filchner Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea , one of the Antarctic waters. When BAS excavated an ice shelf with a thickness of 900 m at a point 260 km away from the continental edge of the ice shelf and videotaped the sea, multiple unknown creatures adhered to the rock in the sea at a depth of 1233 m. It was confirmed that they were there.

These organisms are divided into

taxa that appear to be sponges with stem-like parts, sponges without stem-like parts, and other cnidarians such as ascidians and hydroins with stem-like parts. The largest individual was about 6.6 cm.

The red line in the image below is a marine animal with a stalk-like part, the white line is a sponge without a stalk-like part, and the orange line is others. It is a taxon of.

According to Hugh Griffith of BAS, it is very difficult for organisms to live in the deep sea where sunlight does not reach at all and the sea temperature is below freezing, and only organisms that normally filter feeders can live. That thing. 'If the organisms found this time live in such a harsh environment, they will have acquired special traits for this environment. These organisms will be nourished for years. It's very likely that they're still alive. '

This discovery was made by accident during an ice sheet boring survey, and no individuals have been collected. Griffith wants more research, saying he needs a physical sample for further investigation.