Deep-Sea Antarctic Anemone

An international research team including VIMS Professor Robert Diaz found hundreds of new marine species in the vast, dark deep-sea surrounding Antarctica—the bottom of the bottom of the world. Carnivorous sponges, free-swimming worms, crustaceans, and molluscs living in the Weddell Sea provide new insights into the evolution of ocean life. The scientists discovered that creatures in the deeper parts of the Southern Ocean—the source for much of the deep water in the world ocean—are likely related to animals living in both the adjacent shallower waters and in other parts of the deep ocean. This clip shows a deep-sea anemone in the Bellingshausen Sea at 2100 meters (~6,300 ft.) depth.