Tubeworms, snails and other weird creatures found under the seafloor

By: Adithi Ramakrishnan, The Associated Press Posted: 10:01 AM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists for the first time have uncovered an underworld of animal life thriving beneath the seafloor.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists for the first time have uncovered an underworld of animal life thriving beneath the seafloor.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/10/2024 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists for the first time have uncovered an underworld of animal life thriving beneath the seafloor.

An expedition to a volcanically active ridge in the Pacific off South America has revealed worms, snails, giant tubeworms and other strange creatures lurking below steamy underwater hot springs.

Researchers have long studied animal communities near such hydrothermal vents. Many thought only microbes and viruses could survive underneath. To their surprise, an underwater robot last summer overturned volcanic slabs and found diverse life under the vents.

In this photo provided by Schmidt Ocean Institute, an eelpout swims by a tower of tubeworms at the Tica Vent, a site on the East Pacific Rise 2,500 meters deep. (Schmidt Ocean Institute via AP)

“This was totally unexpected,” said study co-author Sabine Gollner with the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research.

Young critters from above the seafloor could be traveling through the vents to settle in the depths, Gollner said.

The research published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

Future studies will help reveal whether colonies of animal life exist below other hydrothermal vents around the globe.

“This is an initial discovery that’s really promising,” said Jason Sylvan, a microbiologist at Texas A&M University who was not involved with the research.

___

AP video producer Zara Eldridge contributed to this report from London.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.