Nature
PUBLISHED
Beware the creatures of the deep. While most people worry about the big scary things in the ocean such as sharks and orcas, if you're an isopod living down there it’s the pink, fluffy-looking animals you’ve got to be wary of, as a new video that even surprised researchers shows.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.On the latest EV Nautilus trip for the Ocean Exploration Trust, the ROV Hercules was exploring the Nafanua Cone on Vailuluʻu Seamount within the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. The team was observing some anemones 688 meters (2,260 feet) below the ocean's surface. So far so good. While their delighted voices can be heard in the video – "It's like we're in the Barbie movie, everything's so pink and cute!" – their cries of joy quickly turn to those of surprise when a nearby isopod becomes the latest meal for one of the cute, pink, and deadly anemones.
Despite their wacky pom pom-like appearance sea anemones are animals and quite fierce predators. Anemones are closely related to coral and jellyfish and possess venom-filled stinging tentacles that help them catch any fish, or in this case, an isopod that wanders too close. While this might seem brutal, observations like this one can help the team learn more about the relationships between the species living in these remote places.
There are over 10,000 species of isopod that all belong to the taxonomic order “isopoda”. While there is huge variation in size across the species they all have common features that include, two pairs of antennae, bodies segmented into seven sections that each have their own pair of walking legs. Species of isopods live both in the water like this one, and on land including the humble woodlouse.
The area of Vailulu'u is an important site in the South Pacific, 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) from Hawai’i and 2,414 kilometers (1,500 miles) from the northeast of New Zealand. The team hopes to learn more about the “biology, geology, and chemistry of the deep volcanic habitats.
