The tiny pink mite, measuring 1/100th of an inch in length, is the farthest southern living animal recorded. Fungi and algae are what the arachnid uses for its own sustenance.An entomologist from Hawaii recently discovered this mite only 309 miles from the South Pole. This same scientist also found lichens only 266 miles from the Pole. That’s as close to the Pole as life has ever been found.

Recently a magazine article claimed that insects and their relatives are the only kind of animal that can live their entire lives on Antarctica. In order to see the majority of Antarctica’s fifty-six species of arthropods, you’ll need some magnification aid. The biggest measures about the same as a horsefly, and is a wingless fly. In the winter, hibernation is the name of the game, but once the temperature starts to get hot enough to where ice melts, they come out. You will find info on Antarctic cruises by visiting that site.

A huge conglomerate of living creatures fills the waters surrounding Antarctica. They range in size from microscopic to the biggest on this planet. Scientists opted to use a four by six foot capsule to look at the life under the water. There were six windows available to look into the surrounding waters. The scientists took turns in the water. A built-in hydrophone also let them hear the sounds in the water.

While there weren’t many fish in the sea, a 30 foot long jellyfish was detected.The chamber did attract the attention of local seals, who surfaced at a nearby ice hole and looked at the chamber itself. Scientists could hear them chirp, beep, buzz and whistle through the hydrophone. One scientist said he’d never heard such noise before.

These noises help the Weddell seals to navigate and communicate. The navigation theory could help scientists understand how the seals can find holes to surface for air and food in the dark, cold Antarctic waters. These sounds are completely checked out. Our human range of hearing can’t even pick up on some of the more extremely pitched sounds made by the seals.If you are in search of info don’t forget to view this resource Antarctic cruise ship.

The creation of these sounds by the seals still stumps scientists. Both their nostrils and mouths are tightly closed when in the water. The deepest a mammal has ever been recorded to dive is nearly 1500 feet; this was a Weddell seal. Another seal stayed underwater for over 28 minutes before it needed to breathe. One mother seal yielded a sample of mother’s milk to a zoologist. As mammals, baby seals gain weight faster than any other animals like them. This could be due to the fact that seal weight is far fattier than even human mother’s milk. In just six weeks time, a seal pup can increase its weight by five times.

Scientists have investigated Antarctic seas wearing special frogman dive suits. The ocean floor hosts lots of multi-hued seaweed, including red. Other species included five foot words, four foot sponges, and starfish that had both red and white coloration on it, making Antarctica the most interesting place to find new life.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!