Researchers have captured images of a strange creature living beneath the ice in Antarctica during the filming of a new BBC show.
Antarctica is Earth’s southernmost continent. The icy desert is home to about 1,000 scientists living and working in -90C conditions, as they try to understand more about Earth’s history and climate change. .
Bizarre creatures found beneath the ice.
Earlier this month, veteran BBC presenter Sir David Attenborough took viewers to Antarctica to discover a big surprise in the first episode of his new series.
To observe some of the animals in this icy desert, the crew placed cameras under the ice of the Southern Ocean and saw bodies of water teeming with marine life.
“Winter is coming and Antarctica is currently undergoing a major transformation, every day 40,000 square miles of sea will freeze and by the end of winter the continent will double in size,” Sir David said.
This is the largest icy desert in the world, but the frozen surface hides a big secret.
It may be too cold above the ice, but below it, conditions are so stable that life has increasingly diversified over the millennia.
Strange creature discovered.
“The creatures here grow to be as large as predatory Nemertea worms up to 3 meters long,” said Sir David.
However, there is one creature in particular that stands out from the rest. Those are sea slugs.
” Sea slugs are hermaphroditic and each individual has both male and female sex organs. So to mate, a sea slug just needs to find another sea slug. But this is a challenge when the eyes are open. Their babies can barely see anything. However, after successfully fertilizing each other, both will give birth. They will not need to care about the sex of their baby “, Sir David shared.