Weird Deep-Sea Creatures Found in Mid-Atlantic Ridge

From NationalGeographic.com.

An international team of 31 researchers found a number of strange animals while exploring the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an underwater mountain range that runs from Iceland to the Azores islands west of Portugal (see Europe map).

Over the course of five weeks, the team cataloged a host of exotic worms, colorful corals, unusual sea cucumbers, and weird fish. At least one species found during the survey—a tiny crustacean called a seed shrimp—is thought to be new to science.

"It was like going to a new country," said expedition leader Monty Priede of Britain's University of Aberdeen.

4 photos: viperfish, jewel squid, glass squid (cartoonish) and Phronima (shrimplike and transparent).

Related: 27 Aquatic Lifeforms.

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

Categories