<p>This deep-sea ecosystem was dominated by a species of yeti crab, but also included stalked barnacles, limpets, snails, sea anemones and possibly an octopus, the scientists report in the journal PLoS Biology. </p>.<p>There will be more new species discovered as the collected material is further evaluated, said Alex Rogers, a marine biologist at the University of Oxford in England who took part in the expedition. “What we actually found is a community that looked quite different from anything else,” Rogers said.</p>.<p> Fauna typically found in hydrothermal vents in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans — like tube worms, mussels and shrimp — were missing in the Antarctic vents. “We were expecting to see some of them,” Rogers said. <br /><br />“But the harsh conditions of the Antarctic probably select against some of these animals.” The researchers used a remote-controlled vehicle that dived about 8,000 feet to gather images and samples from the sea floor.<br /><br />The water temperature at that depth is barely above freezing, but the fluids that escape from the hydrothermal vents can reach 720 degrees Fahrenheit. </p>
<p>This deep-sea ecosystem was dominated by a species of yeti crab, but also included stalked barnacles, limpets, snails, sea anemones and possibly an octopus, the scientists report in the journal PLoS Biology. </p>.<p>There will be more new species discovered as the collected material is further evaluated, said Alex Rogers, a marine biologist at the University of Oxford in England who took part in the expedition. “What we actually found is a community that looked quite different from anything else,” Rogers said.</p>.<p> Fauna typically found in hydrothermal vents in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans — like tube worms, mussels and shrimp — were missing in the Antarctic vents. “We were expecting to see some of them,” Rogers said. <br /><br />“But the harsh conditions of the Antarctic probably select against some of these animals.” The researchers used a remote-controlled vehicle that dived about 8,000 feet to gather images and samples from the sea floor.<br /><br />The water temperature at that depth is barely above freezing, but the fluids that escape from the hydrothermal vents can reach 720 degrees Fahrenheit. </p>