Marine Marvels

A host of diverse marine creatures have been discovered living in total darkness in the depths of the Atlantic – out of the reach of sunlight. “Marine biologists have been astonished by the range of animals they have found during an underwater expedition that that took them down 5,000m (three miles), where they have now identified 17,650 deep-sea species,” reports The Independent. “One of the most surprising animals was a rare specimen of a primitive creature called a cirrate, or finned octopod, commonly called a ‘Dumbo’ because they swim by flapping a pair of ear-like fins, rather like the Disney cartoon character. But the particular species the biologists found is now called ‘Jumbo Dumbo’, because it grows up to 2m long and weighs about 6kg, the largest specimen of the type ever discovered, records the Census of Marine Life, the umbrella organisation overseeing the global survey of the oceans.”