Creepy Creatures Found in Antarctica

Australian scientists lead by Martin Riddle have reported some very interesting findings regarding their exploration of the antarctic waters last Tuesday. As part of a project to make a "census" of aquatic life in the southern oceans, these professionals went deep below the oceans surface, up to 2,000 meters, in order to identify the creatures living there.

One of the things the observed was the bizarrely large size of the creatures they discovered compared to other ocean dwelling creatures. This, however, is typical of antarctic waters. Organisms tend to be larger in colder, darker, deeper waters. This natural phenomena is known as gigantism.

Among the creatures observed and collected were giant worms, various crustaceans and sea spiders. Many of the organisms they found have yet to be identified, which will result in the discovery of multiple new species if DNA tests confirm that they aren't any known species.

One of the main focuses of this expedition was to document the various species of animals living in the antarctic region to make it easier to study the impact climate change is having on their existence. The scientists have been based in the antarctic area for the past two months vigorously studying the organisms that call that region home.

Many of the creatures found are unlike any other species the scientists know of, possibly caused by their unique location at the bottom of a frigid ocean. Martin Riddle told interviewers that: "They had fins in various places, they had funny dangly bits around their mouths,They were all bottom dwellers so they were all evolved in different ways to live down on the sea bed in the dark. So many of them had very large eyes".

With all of this new knowledge gained, the scientists are already planning another adventure into the antarctic region to continue their quest for knowledge.