Animal life was not what scientists were expecting to find in the pitch-black seawater beneath almost half a mile of floating Antarctic ice, but it seems to have found a way with the discovery of sea creatures living in the extreme environment. But for [biologists], it is amazing because no one has ever seen these [organisms] before.. The scientists will continue to study the newfound subsurface ecosystem and hope to learn more about how the nutrients in the water are cycled through Antarctica's underground water networks to support the abundance of life that lives there. Not according to biology or history. It was caused due to millions of years of erosion, and it is not uncommon for mountains to have at least a partially pyramidal shape in various parts of the world. Long COVID patients turn to unproven treatments, Why evenings can be harder on people with dementia, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, This sacred site could be Georgias first national park, See glow-in-the-dark mushrooms in Brazils other rainforest, 9 things to know about Holi, Indias most colorful festival, Anyone can discover a fossil on this beach. NASA warns of 3 skyscraper-sized asteroids headed toward Earth this week. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). IE 11 is not supported. A discovery of this magnitude would definitely be spooky, but according to LiveScience the formation is simply a mountain that looks like a pyramid. In comparison, the Eiffel Tower is 987-feet tall. A fossil from Antarctica is now the heaviest known animal in this group of prehistoric marine reptiles. Coat of arms of the Hungarian Bthory family which depicts a dragon. This sea monster definitely fits the description of scary things found in Antarctica! Pictured near Deception Island (how convenient!) Like other members of the shergottite-nakhlite-chassignite (SNC) group of meteorites, ALH84001 is thought to have originated on Mars.However, it does not fit into any of the previously . While the boulder is located about 150 miles from the ocean, the direction of the currents beneath the ice shelf suggests the nearest plant life is up to 1,000 miles away, Griffiths said. Great images too. All rights reserved, finally unearthed the heaviest known elasmosaur, Find out about a plesiosaur fossil found with a baby preserved in its body, mass extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs, Would the dinosaurs have died out if not for that asteroid? Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. Vostok Lake of Antarctica is the largest subglacial lake in the world. A new study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology describes a new pterosaur called Cryodrakon boreas, "frozen dragon of the north winds." Photograph by Stocktrek Images, Inc. / Alamy. This nearly whole, deep-black skull belongs to the most complete specimen of Tyrannosaurus rex on display in Europe, an individual nicknamed Tristan Otto. One of the most exciting discoveries is the HMS Endurance, a ship that belonged to explorer Ernest Shackleton that sank in 1915. According to flat-earthers, Antarctica is actually a thick wall about 30 to 60 meters (100 to 200 ft.) high that surrounds our planet. Small mobile animals such as shrimp and crustaceans called sea fleas have been seen before beneath ice shelves, but no one expected to see stationary animals like these. This caught the team off guard, as they had not expected to find any type of life this far below the icy surface. More details about the dragon-like creature: The fossil was found in a quarry northwest of Richmond, Queensland, back in June 2011 by Len Shaw, who conducted excavations in the area in search of valuable details. Find out which creatures belonged in this group, how they grew to incredible sizes, and how they've captivated both scientists and storytellers alike. Published on 5/11/2017 at 1:25 AM. By Avery Thompson Published: Jan 31, 2019 You get some strange things found in icebergs these days, and what better way to end a Halloween-themed article about Antarctica than with some classic skeletons? There are numerous conspiracy theories regarding Antarctica, and we wont get into them (though some are hilarious). All Rights Reserved. After sending the camera down into the river, the team was surprised to learn that the cavern looked drastically different from what they had predicted. He then proceeds to analyse the skeleton, before concluding that it could be an ancient dinosaur. Maybe not a spooky as the rest of the creepy facts about Antarctica on this list. She has been put through hell and come out the other side . Such an interesting post, Anita. (Find out about a plesiosaur fossil found with a baby preserved in its body.). It could be an old dinosaur. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. He thinks the work is well done, and hes happy that the team hasnt jumped to hasty conclusionsOGorman even hesitates to say whether the species is definitely from the Aristonectes genus, since further evidence may put the species in a new genus entirely. The scientists found the secret subterranean habitat tucked away beneath the Larsen Ice Shelf a massive, floating sheet of ice attached to the eastern coast of the Antarctic peninsula that famously birthed the world's largest iceberg in 2021. The shark's scientific name, Dracopristis hoffmanorum, was announced in a press release by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science (NMMNHS) on Thursday. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? But I would be much more conservative in saying its Cryodrakon, because, yeah, theres no features on that at all.. Initially, the team thought their equipment was faulty. Antarctica is a continent located in the Southern Hemisphere and contains the coldest environment on earth. Work could only happen for a few weeks in January and early February, and some years the dig didnt happen at all because of conditions and limited resources. It wouldve been nice to have pictures accompanying this article. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? Regardless, sometimes you might get lucky and find some Antarctica mythical creatures. By KAI GENG A mans world? Antarctica is an ice covered continent. I wouldnt find it creepy being on the bottom (or top) of the Earth, but some of those things Ive never heard of (sea spiders, striped icebergs) would give me chills. At the coordinates 66 36 14 S 99 43 40 E the strange shape is clearly visible among the rock and snow in the hostile continent. "This could be very, very old, going back to prehistoric Antartica. Meet the Great Eared-Nightjar, The Bird That Is Basically A Tiny Dragon. Long COVID patients turn to unproven treatments, Why evenings can be harder on people with dementia, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, This sacred site could be Georgias first national park, See glow-in-the-dark mushrooms in Brazils other rainforest, 9 things to know about Holi, Indias most colorful festival, Anyone can discover a fossil on this beach. MrMBB333 has previously posted videos of 'mysterious' Google Maps in Antarctica, including what he alleged was a huge man-made disc emerging from the snow in the region. The number of meteorites found in Antarctica is equal to the number of meteorites found in the rest of the world combined. 108K views 2 years ago When we think of Antarctica, we think of snow, clusters of wildlife and beautiful landscapes. It's a rare sight, but that's in part because winter inAntarctica is a bitch and there aren't many people hanging around throwing parties. "Antarcticais a very mysterious place. Rare 'Dragon-Skin' Ice Spotted During Antarctic Research Voyage By Kacey Deamer published May 10, 2017 Dragon skin occurs when strong winds continually lift surface ice, subsequently freezing. Did an ancient species of a dragon found living in Antarctica? Sure, it would be cool (no pun intended) for creepy things found in ice like this to have been created by some sort of mythological ice giants. Although the alleged Dragon creature in the video is not visible clearly in the blurry and dark footage, the video has been shared quite often. Life Science Environment 'Strange creatures' found under Antarctica. Many dragonflies are beautifully colored with greens, reds, yellows and blues. Ice that looks like a dragon's scales may sound like something from an episode of "Game of Thrones," but researchers recently observed the rare type of sea ice known as "dragon skin" in Antarctica. Was an ancient species of dragon found living in Antarctica? A huge skull discovered in China may be a new human species: Dragon Man. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. Not according to biology or history. This information is extremely useful to scientists because how quickly a glacier melts depends a great deal on whats going on near that bedrock.
This nearly whole, deep-black skull belongs to the most complete specimen of Tyrannosaurus rex on display in Europe, an individual nicknamed Tristan Otto. Fossil remains found by a Chilean research team in the Atacama Desert have been determined to belong to a prehistoric pterosaur flying dragon, it was reported. The 'Dragon-skin' ice is very rare and has not been spotted in Antarctica since 2007 . One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. Tell us below which one of theweird things in Antarctica you are the most shocked about! The flying reptile was mostly head and neckand had at least a 16-foot wingspan, if not bigger. Rare 'Dragon Skin' Ice Found in Antarctica Is Intensely Beautiful. mostly around freshwater locations. The male characters all stand on their own, being easily distinguishable from each other. The largest meteorite discovered in Antarctica weighs 7.6 kilograms. Bryozoans found in the habitat. Please be respectful of copyright. Heres the technology that helped scientists find itand what it may have been used for. In the icy badlands of Alberta, paleontologists have found a "frozen dragon": a new genus of pterosaur that once soared over the heads of dinosaurs with a wingspan that stretched at least 16. Related: Alarming heat waves hit Arctic and Antarctica at the same time. TheNathan B Palmer icebreaker research vessel is continuing an expedition near the south pole even as winter approaches and most research boats move toward warmer weather. The new year once started in Marchhere's why, Jimmy Carter on the greatest challenges of the 21st century, This ancient Greek warship ruled the Mediterranean, How cosmic rays helped find a tunnel in Egypt's Great Pyramid, Who first rode horses? These things turned out to be over a ton of fossils on the James Ross Island, ranging from 71 to 67 million years old. And when Habib, Hone, and Royal Tyrrell Museum paleontologist Franois Therrien compared the holes in the Canadian pterosaurs neck vertebrae against those for all other known azhdarchids, they found that its arrangement is unique. (University of Tasmania) Despite the frigid temperatures, Williams estimated that the ocean was generating more than 1,000 to 1,500 watts per square. Heres the science.). Fossil 'sea monster' found in Antarctica was the heaviest of its kind The 15-ton elasmosaur adds to evidence that a vibrant marine ecosystem existed just before the dinosaur mass extinction. The remains, previously only ever found in North America, were. The climate of Antarctica can vary depending on where you are and the time of the season. The "dragon-skin" sighting was an early highlight of the expedition, because the rare ice formation had not been seen in Antarctica since 2007, the researchers said. (Would the dinosaurs have died out if not for that asteroid? 18 Antarctica's Blood Falls. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Please be respectful of copyright. New York, All 154 people on board survived after being rescued by nearby vessels. Something fascinating about their legendary predatory skills. Youd hardly expect them to come in stripes as well. But its identity remained unclear for decades because of a paleontological paradox: Quetzalcoatlus might be the best-known and worst-known azhdarchid all at once. The melting ice in Antarctica has revealed a skeleton of a mysterious creature - and the network believes it is a dinosaur. The finding waspublished Mondayin Frontiers in Marine Science. The more that he compared his measurements of Quetzalcoatlus to the Canadian fossil, the more he suspected it wasnt Quetzalcoatlus at all. Their arrival marked the completion of the Xuelong 2's maiden voyage.Along with her older sister, the Xuelong, China's newest Polar Class 3 icebreaker had steamed more than 70,000 nautical miles over the course of her expedition to Antarctica. There are also indications other animals may be fixed to the boulder, such as tube worms, stalked barnacles, or hydroids, which are related to jellyfish. Their eyes are compound -they consist of 24,000 ommatidia (or tiny eyes). I love these critters. Pterosaurs were the first vertebrates to take to the skies. But what was most intresting about her was that she could see Antarctica, something no other dragon could do. Can we bring a species back from the brink? For a long time, paleontologists had instead assumed that the fossils belonged to a pterosaur called Quetzalcoatlus northropi, says study coauthor Dave Hone, a paleontologist at Queen Mary University of London. Thats awesome, Ryan, thanks a lot for sharing. With its ends broken off, that vertebra had avoided identification for years: Paleontologists had even once tentatively described it as a leg bone. Schulp adds that the work moves our knowledge of plesiosaurs forward, and he is excited to see Argentine paleontologists go back out there and find more fossils. The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. As a species, they are present all around the planet, and can be as small as 1 millimeter in size. Geologists taking sediment cores from the seafloor beneath the giant Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf on the southern edge of Antarcticas Weddell Sea discovered what biologists believe are types of sponge. In fact, the further north in latitude you go, the fewer dragonflies . Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Dragonflies are members of the order Odonata. Footage of the oddity was uploaded on the YouTube channel of MrMBB333 who regularly shares weird . All rights reserved. There have been all sorts of things found in the arctic, from underground lakes and ancient fossils to prehistoric skeletons and enormous tunnels. The ultimate action-packed science and technology magazine bursting with exciting information about the universe, Subscribe today and save an extra 5% with checkout code 'LOVE5', Engaging articles, amazing illustrations & exclusive interviews, Issues delivered straight to your door or device. Maybe one day you can work, and the next day you cannot because you have a snowstorm, OGorman says. Immediately, we'd get about 2 feet of sea level rise. Meteorites are easier to see on the white ice. The tail of a 99-million-year-old dinosaur was found entombed in amber in 2016, an unprecedented discovery that has blown away scientists. October is coming up, and you just know social media will be flooded with Halloween posts even before the event. While the animals exact diet cant be known without fossilized stomach contents or other evidence, OGorman says that it likely fed on crustaceans and small fish, based on the small size of its teeth. When does spring start? Experts have long suspected that there is a vast network of rivers, lakes and estuaries underneath Antarctica, but until now these features have been poorly studied. Again, while it isnt the most immediately terrifying phenomenon, these crazy things found in Antarctica are still unnerving. It's thought both types of stationary animals are types of sponges or are related to sponges, but scientists did not expect to find them beneath the ice shelf, in pitch-blackness and hundreds of miles from the coast. It is the southernmost continent and is where the South Pole is located. Still, one that has been making the rounds recently is the discovery of supposed pyramids as one of the strange things found in Antarctica, remnants of an ancient civilization.. The difference is that you can actually see something resembling them on Google Earth (coordinates 795839.25S 815732.21W). How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? Unauthorized use is prohibited. Thwaites holds back a large portion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and a handful of nearby glaciers; if Thwaites disappears, we could see an additional eight feet of sea level rise from these sources, on top of the two feet from Thwaites itself. The discovery of what appear to be sponges in the pitch-black seawater beneath almost half a mile of ice has biologists baffled. Wine and Cheeseburger: Harley and Lara Pair Falafel with Wine. The video has recorded nearly 300,000 views, sparking fierce debate among conspiracy theorists online. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. The answer is fiction. Video shows discovery of sea-sponges living nearly half a mile beneath Antarctica ice. If youve seen Jurassic World, its the giant whale-like colossus from the feeding show. As such, Cez and Agness of eTramping were kind enough to provide some spooky, puzzling and altogether creepy things found in Antarctica. Haha `Deception Island indeed. The pterosaurs bones have been known to scientists for nearly three decades, but it has only now been confirmed as its own genus, researchers announced on Tuesday in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Heres how it works. Antarctic dinosaurs found in icy graves Palaeontologists working on top a frozen Antarctic mountain have extracted a rock and ice fossil popsicle encasing the remains of a massive, previously unknown dinosaur. These animals can sniff it out. ", Largest fish nursery discovered beneath Weddell Sea in Antarctica, 'Giant MRI of Antarctica' reveals 'fossil seawater' under ice sheet, Rare wispy ice formations streak across the sea near Antarctica in beautiful satellite image. On active days, the team had to wait for the sun to defrost the soil before they could excavate, and every piece wrested from the dirt would then need to be shipped by helicopter to the Argentine Marambio Base a few miles away. BBC's correspondent predicts leadership chaos even after CDU vote[VIDEO]Stunning backlash grows in revolt over EU's vaccine rollout[VIDEO]Prince William 'concerned' that Harry is trying to 'exploit' Diana[INSIGHT]. According to National Geographic, the fifty-million-year-old sperm cells on the ancient worm's egg case were found in Antarctica. But if you empty and refill the tray each night, you get so much more. The 27 scientists from eight countries aboard the ship are researching Antarctic polynya, which are areaswhere ice forms rapidly due to "katabatic" winds, which can hit hurricane strengths. What we find by visiting the coordinates 7200' 36.00'' S, 168 34' 40.00'' E is a mysterious face in the ice - seemingly complete with two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Antarctica hasnt been doing so well lately. The "dragon," which roamed the earth 160 million years ago, has a long pointed tail, wings and sharp, protruding pointed teeth. This genus, found in the Southern Hemisphere, is characterized by shorter necks and larger skulls. The only things you would expect to find are things that can wander around and find food, he said. This Antarctica expedition focused on recovering large volume samples of the 2-plus-million-year-old ice discovered four years earlier. With 170 of its 300-odd bones preserved, this scientifically important but privately owned skeleton is currently at the Museum fr Naturkunde in Berlin, Germany. They are the slugs of the sea and live among other deep-sea creatures such as clams and coral. That guy is big! Schulp says from looking at photos of the bones. It was an adventure., Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The remnants come from the final days of the dinosaurs on Earth, so these strange things in Antarctica are quite an amazing sight to see today! What is wind chill, and how does it affect your body? Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Dragonflies are widely spread throughout the world and can be found on every continent except Antarctica. When it was discovered in 1911 by an Australian geologist, the explanation he came up with was that microscopic red algae gave the waterfall its coloring. Lovecraft would have probably loved to see this interesting creature. Rare find'. The seas around Antarctica are rich in marine (sea-living) animals, ranging from microscopic plankton to the largest animal ever to live on Earth, the blue whale. It took decades of struggling with the weather on a small, desolate island off the Antarctic Peninsula. Bizzard was a young IceWing dragonet, covered in scars. Some of these Antarctica scary facts have simple explanations, others not so much. Its amazing, she says, just to see how far were going., Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Unfortunately for any arachnophobes out there, Antarctica does have spiders, sort of. After completing her undergraduate degree in journalism and environmental studies at Ithaca College, Kacey pursued her master's in Specialized Journalism: Climate Change at USC Annenberg. Antarctica is ringed with more than half a million square miles of ice shelves the Filchner-Ronne is one of the largest, covering more than 160,000 square miles but boreholes have revealed an area of seafloor beneath them only the size of a tennis court. Were glad youve enjoyed reading our guest post. In the past 15 years, paleontologists have found more types of azhdarchids in France, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Romania, and elsewhere, giving a much better reference for diversity within this pterosaur group. "I would guess this is somewhere in the region of 15 to 20ft. Now, this enormous species of giant pterosaur part of a group known as azhdarchids finally has a name: Cryodrakon boreas, drawing from the ancient Greek words that translate to "cold dragon of the north winds." It would have flying in a landscape that would have been reasonably temperate but a hell of a lot warmer than central Alberta is now.. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. These skeletons may have the answer, Scientists are making advancements in birth controlfor men, Blood cleaning? .css-3wjtm9{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.125rem;text-decoration-color:#1c6a65;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:inherit;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-3wjtm9:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}None of these are doing well, but one of themthe Thwaites Glacier in West Antarcticais rapidly crumbling. You can unsubscribe at any time. Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. PACKING TIP: Dont leave home without a solar powered battery pack so you can keep your devices connected at all times. But it wouldnt be AS exciting if they didnt also discover massive dinosaur bones, such as from the mosasaurus. Today, there are still accounts of reptilian monsters said to haunt and harass villages throughout the remaining corners of largely unexplored forests, mountains and oceans of the world. Dragons are imaginary and an invention of people, Is the novel. In late April 2020, two Chinese icebreakers made a port call in Shanghai to a large state media celebration. True to their name, the Antarctic Icefish lives in the icy cold waters of the Arctic and has icy-looking blood to match. Tullbergia seems to have persisted in the same place for . It takes a little more effort and logistics in the first place, and not just everyone stumbles into those fossils, agrees Anne Schulp, vertebrate paleontologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center who was not involved in the research. In East Antarctica, there is a place where it looks like the continent is gushing out blood. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. But there is so much more. The geologists used hot-water equipment to drill the borehole through more than half a mile of the ice shelf, on the southern edge of Antarctica's Weddell Sea. An. Unknown ancient people left the newly discovered fantastical creatures hewn of granite in Altai Mountains. Also, meteorites that fall to Antarctica are preserved in ice for a long time. When the researchers sent a camera down through the icy tunnel and into the cavern, hundreds of tiny, blurry flecks in the water obscured the video feed. Nearly 42,000 meteorites have been found in Antarctica by government funded expeditions, mainly by the U.S. and Japan. "But what is clear is that great changes are afoot.". Well, in 2016 a team of researchers discovered some very interesting things found frozen in Antarctica. Dragon skin is also evidence of a "darker chaos" in the cryosphere (parts of the planet's surface where water is frozen), according to Williams. After a week, you get one tray of ice cubes. Lovecraft would have probably loved to see this interesting creature. At the time, though, he didnt have the resources to excavate the fossil find, but he informed researchers in Argentina about the discovery. Kacey Deamer is a journalist for Live Science, covering planet earth and innovation. Antarctica is still a relatively unexplored area on our planet. [If] the organisms evolved to live beneath ice shelves, they may provide us with a molecular clock that can be used to gauge past climate driven changes in Antarctic ice., The discovery shows that life can exist in environments where science suggests it should not: There are still things that we have to learn, Griffiths said. The main reference fossil for Cryodrakon belonged to an individual pterosaur that had a roughly 16-foot wingspan. Harry is a U.K.-based staff writer at Live Science. That is what the katabatic winds are doing in the polynya, removing the ice, exposing the water and making more ice form.". 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