Animal's Kingdom |
| Posted: 01 Dec 2009 11:24 AM PST  This bizarre transparent sea cucumber was recently spotted some 1.7 miles under the sea in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. And, according to a new report, there are many, many more where this came from. Thousands of marine species eke out an existence in the ocean's pitch-black depths by feeding on the snow-like decaying matter that cascades down, and even sunken whale bones, according to a report released by the Census of Marine Life and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. So far the project has recorded 17,650 species living below 656 feet, the point where sunlight ceases. The findings are the latest update on a 10-year census of marine life. This animal, Enypniastes, was recorded creeping forward on its many tentacles at a rate of about 0.9 inches per minute, while sweeping detritus-rich sediment into its mouth. Eventually the creature bloomed into a startlingly curved shape and swam away to find another meal. As Robert S. Carney, an oceanographer at Louisiana State University and lead researcher on the census, commented, "Parts of the deep sea that we assumed were homogenous are actually quite complex." The Associated Press contributed to this report.  
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