Jenno’s Ool

Thursday, July 14, 2005

"Baguette-Sized" Sea Critter

It always astounds me just how little we know about the world under our feet, more specifically, in our oceans. There is so much of the ocean that's not mapped out and we have no idea just what's down there. When I was working at the Huntsman, one of my favorite exhibits was the deep sea room. The critters in there were just so ... weird!

Well, here's another weird one for you: a new type of animal that is described "as being the length of a French baguette with the diameter of a broom handle." This is pretty big for a deep sea critter -- the pressure at extreme depths is such that implosion is a factor in larger animals. On the other hand, those that are living in the deeps cannot survive at lesser pressures; they would literally fall apart.

A final note on the BBC article; one of the researchers involved: Dr. Haddock! Heh.

Via: Karen Traviss

Posted by Jennifer at 5:44 PM | Comments (0)  

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