New York – For the first time, scientists have discovered an underworld of animal life that teems beneath the seabed.
An expedition to a reef with volcanic activity in the Pacific, off the coast of South Americarevealed the existence of worms, snails, giant tube worms and other strange creatures lurking beneath the steaming warm underwater waters.
Researchers have long studied the animal communities near these hydrothermal volcanic vents. Many believed that, beneath them, they could only survive microbes and viruses. To their surprise, last summer, an underwater robot flipped over several volcanic plates and found various life forms under the chimneys.
“This was totally unexpected”said study co-author Sabine Gollner of the Royal Netherlands Marine Research Institute.
Young organisms from the top of the seafloor perhaps travel through the vents to settle in the depths, Gollner said.
The research was published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.
Future studies will help reveal whether colonies of animal life exist beneath other hydrothermal vents in other parts of the world.
“This is a really promising initial discovery,” said Jason Sylvan, a microbiologist at Texas A&M University who was not involved in the research.