Sea Cucumber & # 39; Headless Chicken Monster & # 39; filmed for the first time in the Antarctic Ocean

A sea cucumber swimming on the high seas, also known as "headless chicken monster", is one of the creatures of the deep seabed filmed by Australian researchers for the first time with a new camera.

The strange creature, Enypniastes eximia, Was filmed off the coast of Eastern Antarctica by researchers from the Australian Antarctic Division, using an underwater camera system that can be connected to a commercial fishing line, the Australian Department of Fisheries and Oceans reported. 'environment.

This is the first time one of these creatures has been filmed in the Southern Ocean (Antarctic Ocean) and has only been filmed in the Gulf of Mexico.

In connection with the sea cucumber, the creatures have developed structures allowing them to float in the sea, moving between the feeding points of the bottom and avoiding predators. They are mostly bright pink and some species can shine in the dark to ward off predators.

Dirk Welsford, program manager of the Australian Antarctic Division, said the new camera system provided valuable data to conservationists.

"The housing that protects the camera and electronic components is designed to attach to toothfish longlines in the Southern Ocean, so it must be extremely durable. We needed something that could be projected on the side of a boat and would continue to run reliably under extreme pressure in complete darkness for long periods of time, "said Welsford.

Cucumber swimming in deep water filmed off the coast of Antarctica by Australian researchers Getty Images

"Some of the images we get from the cameras are breathtaking, including species we have never seen in this part of the world. More importantly, the cameras provide important information about areas of the seabed that can withstand this type of fishing and sensitive areas to avoid. "

Australia is one of 25 countries and member organizations of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which is committed to preserving marine life and the marine environment near Antarctica .

Australian CCAMLR Commissioner Gillian Slocum said the photos would be presented at the organization's annual meeting in Hobart, Tasmania, this week, where she would plead for the creation of a new zone. Eastern Antarctic Marine Protected Area, in which commercial fishing would be restricted.

"The Southern Ocean is home to an incredible abundance and variety of marine life, including commercially valuable species, whose exploitation must be carefully managed for future generations," Slocum said. .