Headless chicken monster from the abyss captured in a camera in the Southern Ocean

Update

October 21, 2018 11:24:00

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) filmed an extremely unusual sea cucumber, marking the first time that it was sighted in the depths of the Southern Ocean .

The deep sea cucumber, Eximia Enypniastes – aka the "headless chicken monster" – was previewed with the help of new cameras under -AAF marines deployed by fishing vessels in Antarctica.

AAD researcher Dirk Welsford said the discovery of this organism, found floating 3 kilometers below the surface of Heard Island, was a real surprise.

"We had never seen this before … at the time, none of us actually knew what it was, so we did a lot of scientists do it and have it searched on Google, "said Dr. Welsford.

While most sea cucumbers are unable to swim, the headless chicken monster moves into the depths of the ocean and lowers to the bottom of the sea for feed.

the most spectacular specimens I've ever seen, "he said.

" The way he flies over the camera is quite charismatic … and he's pretty unusual to know how to swim. "

This bright purple, plankton-eating organism, which has bat-shaped wings and is the size of a basketball, has been filmed only once before, in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Welsford said that the bizarre nickname of the body was nothing more than the fact that sea scientists laughed at laughing.

"It looks a little chicken-shaped … and it's a cool name," he said.

"It also reflects the little knowledge we have about the deep sea and the strange things we see doing studies there."

While we know very little about what is At the bottom of the world's oceans, the extreme weather conditions of the Southern Ocean and the remoteness means that a large part of its inhabitants remain a mystery.

"There are almost certainly many, many other things we do not know there and are waiting to be discovered," said Dr. Welford.

The animal is also known as the Spanish dancer, as well as her graceful feature that swings. the current resembles that of a flamenco dress.

Camera technology advances seabed science

Dr. Welsford explained that a small inexpensive camera technology was helping AAD to explore the depths of the Southern Ocean.

Of a similar quality to that of smartphones cameras, they are housed only in a secure housing to withstand the pressure of water and negative temperatures.

The AAD can now film more deeply than ever since a fishing boat.

"Because [the technology] is now so portable and so cheap, we hope to install cameras on almost every fishing boat going down south, so we can quickly get a lot of data on what's going on there below, in a way that we have never been able to

"The development of equipment capable of surviving under these conditions has been very difficult up to now.

" This is the camera the deeper ever deployed aboard a fishing vessel. "The Southern Ocean is the only ocean to circulate completely around the Earth, with no major landmbad and home to the largest number of marine animals in the world.

" There is still a lot, a lot of mysteries in the deep ocean we 're Dr. Welsford is just beginning to scratch the surface of, "said Dr. Welsford.

Dr. Welford hoped that the use of underwater cameras would help to paint a clearer picture of diversity, number and the location of organisms in the depths of the ocean. [19659010] Data generated by underwater cameras will be presented at the annual meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora, held in Hobart, Monday.

Topics:

Marine biology,

science and technology,

animal science,

biology,

environment,

Hobart 7000,

heap

First publication

October 21, 2018 10:38:42