As such, Cez and Agness of eTramping were kind enough to provide some spooky, puzzling and altogether creepy things found in Antarctica. He then zoomed in on the neck vertebra, whose ends are shot through with pneumatophores, the holes through which air sacs once entered the bones interior. Lol. Researchers recently brought this "hidden world" into the light, revealing a dark and jagged cavern filled with swarms of tiny, shrimplike creatures. New York, The extremely cold water is full of animals such as Antarctic krill, a . After drilling out the borehole, the scientists lowered a sediment corer and an attached video camera through the ice shelf. Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies/University of Tasmania. Footage of the oddity was uploaded on the YouTube channel of MrMBB333 who regularly shares weird . This genus, found in the Southern Hemisphere, is characterized by shorter necks and larger skulls. It is the southernmost continent and is where the South Pole is located. It wasnt until this year that researchers have found out that the waterfall springs from a lake trapped under the ice for over a million years! How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? What is wind chill, and how does it affect your body? This nearly whole, deep-black skull belongs to the most complete specimen of Tyrannosaurus rex on display in Europe, an individual nicknamed Tristan Otto. At the time, though, he didnt have the resources to excavate the fossil find, but he informed researchers in Argentina about the discovery. The researchers had expected that the roof of the chamber would be smooth and flat. The cavern was also much wider nearer the roof. Heres the technology that helped scientists find itand what it may have been used for. / Credit: NASA. The bodies of a 13-year-old girl, plus a. For me, as a Canadian who also works on pterosaurs, its pretty cool to get an actual name for an animal thats been kicking around for a while, says paleontologist Liz Martin-Silverstone, a research associate at the University of Bristol who wasnt involved with the study. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Whereas if youre stuck to a rock and youre waiting for food to come to you, then the one bit that comes past this year could go past you.. 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. He studied Marine Biology at the University of Exeter (Penryn campus) and after graduating started his own blog site "Marine Madness," which he continues to run with other ocean enthusiasts. 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. .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. (GiMa38 / CC BY-SA 4.0 ) Accounts of Reptilian Monsters in Modern-Day New Guinea . A lot of marine life would have needed to thrive there to satisfy the appetite of such a large creature, so the fact that these animals continued to exist so late in the Cretaceous adds to the evidence that the aquatic world, at least, was doing just fine right up until the sudden mass extinction. "Imagine your standard ice-cube tray, filled once," Williams said in the announcement. Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. ", One viewer noted: Seals dont have back legs.". But the researchers realized that a separate fossil at the Royal Tyrrell Museuma smashed-up tube of bone 16 inches longwas the middle portion of a neck vertebra from an azhdarchid that probably had a wingspan of more than 30 feet. I always think back to Alien vs. That cavern is likely filled with air much warmer than the surrounding ice, triggering faster melting of the glacier than would happen otherwise. And for his part, OGorman seems thrilled with the whole experience: It was quite cold, and quite cool, too. The azhdarchids are also known for reaching immense sizes, none more so than Quetzalcoatlus. Heres why each season begins twice. As a species, they are present all around the planet, and can be as small as 1 millimeter in size. . Its like you go out to Africa, and you find some giant cat toothits probably a really big lion, but without the rest of the lion attached to it, its a tooth!, Martin-Silverstone agrees with the cautious approach: I think theyre right that its an azhdarchid [neck] vertebraIve seen this specimen, and I completely agree that thats what it is, she says. A team of researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany has discovered a whopping 77 seafloor . Allan Hills 84001 (ALH84001) is a fragment of a Martian meteorite that was found in the Allan Hills in Antarctica on December 27, 1984, by a team of American meteorite hunters from the ANSMET project. The number of meteorites found in Antarctica is equal to the number of meteorites found in the rest of the world combined. It was discovered in 1986 by the South African Speleological Association. Future fossils, she adds, could even test whether Cryodrakon varied in size based on sex. Video shows discovery of sea-sponges living nearly half a mile beneath Antarctica ice. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, Maybe not a spooky as the rest of the creepy facts about Antarctica on this list. With such a young history of Antarctic exploration, it is no wonder that there are still many strange things about Antarctica that remain mysterious to this day. A Fish Equipped With Antifreeze. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); I knew not of these creatures, nor, spooky happenings, in Antarctica. 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, 'Runaway' black hole the size of 20 million suns found speeding through space with a trail of newborn stars behind it, Artificial sweetener may increase risk of heart attack and stroke, study finds, 'Unreal' auroras cover Earth in stunning photo taken by NASA astronaut, Wreck of long-lost US World War II submarine found off Japanese coast. The new specimen is also very interesting because it dates so close to the end of the Cretaceousjust 30,000 years before the mass extinction event that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs about 66 million years ago. Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? The discovery of the secret shrimp-infested structure had the team "jumping up and down for joy," Stevens added. All the ingredients for life exist beneath ice shelves, said John Priscu, a professor of polar ecology at Montana State University, who has studied life under polar ice for almost 40 years but who was not involved in the latest study. ", Another remarked: "Google search for images of seal skeleton shows a pretty good match. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. The find came months after NASA successfully destroyed a 530-foot-wide . We may earn commission if you buy from a link. The wreck of Endurance has been found in the Antarctic, 106 years after the historic ship was crushed in pack ice and sank during an expedition by the explorer Ernest Shackleton. Life Science Environment 'Strange creatures' found under Antarctica. The Southern Hemisphereat least the plesiosaurscould definitely use some attention, he says. You can unsubscribe at any time. [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. Dec 29, 2021, 6:55 AM PST. If they found pieces of what looked like a large Cretaceous azhdarchid, they provisionally assigned them to Quetzalcoatlus, because they didnt know enough about Quetzalcoatlus to say anything different. Come along for the ride! During this brutal interaction between the polar ocean and atmosphere, the seawater freezes as freshwater ice, according to the researchers. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. 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. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. They are associated with deep waterholes, rain, rivers, and, you guessed it, rainbows. If youve seen Jurassic World, its the giant whale-like colossus from the feeding show. It is also called Hoffman's. While some previously known Aristonectes have weighed about 11 tons or so, most other elasmosaurs only come in at around five tons. This site contains affiliate links for products and services we recommend. They estimate that the as-yet-unnamed elasmosaur weighed between 11.8 tons and 14.8 tons, with a head-to-tail length of nearly 40 feet. Thanks to this nearly Manhattan-size gap in the ice, the entire glacier along with the surrounding ice sheet will likely disappear much more quickly. The researchers also unexpectedly discovered that the water column underground split into four or five distinct layers of water flowing in opposite directions. She has been put through hell and come out the other side . Something fascinating about their legendary predatory skills. Bats and agaves make tequila possibleand theyre both at risk, This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome. PRO TIP: My go-to camera for all my travels is the Sony A7iii I highly recommend it! It is barren, cold and almost seems like it is from another world, so it would make sense that if a UFO were to land on Earth with the hope of going undiscovered, that's where it'd park, and it turns out, that just might have happened.. A researcher examining satellite maps of the continent uncovered what they claim is a UFO, and sent the discovery . There is a 9- to 10-meter wingspan azhdarchid in this formation; whether or not thats exactly the same as the one weve described, you cant say 100-percent, Hone says. Dinosaurs once foraged beneath the Southern Lights in Antarctica By Howard Falcon-Lang Royal Holloway, London It may be hard to believe, but Antarctica was once covered in towering forests. Photograph by Stocktrek Images, Inc. / Alamy. I don't think it's a sea lion.". Heres how it works. An international team is currently trying to finish the job. So what happens if Thwaites melts? Vostok Lake of Antarctica is the largest subglacial lake in the world. 10:00pm, Feb 16, 2021 Updated: 5:14pm, Feb 16 'Strange creatures' found under Antarctica. As for those sea spiders I may dig em, having seen some cool-looking spiders from the tropics. A radar image of Thwaites from 2011 to 2017. Dr. Williams confirmed to Gizmodo that dragon ice is a variation on pancake ice, which forms "when piles of slushy ice are shaped and sculpted by wave action or winds." What if we could clean them out? Meteorites are easier to see on the white ice. Discovered in 2010 in Montanas famed Hell Creek Formation of the late Cretaceous, the 40-foot-long fossil took four years to excavate and prepare. Most of the 45,000 meteorites found in Antarctica over the past century have only weighed a few grams, The Independent noted. There are still animals out there that can break the rules that we have written for them.. . Bizzard was a young IceWing dragonet, covered in scars. A huge skull discovered in China may be a new human species: Dragon Man. But again, as with many weird things found in Antarctica, the explanation is much simpler. But to those accustomed to the Hollywood image of an iceberg, seeing striped ones can make one feel a bit uneasy. Weird Google Earth images appear to show a giant "dome" rammed in the ice and it's sent conspiracy theorists wild. Heres the science, Related: See the Mystery and Beauty of Fossils. Discovered in 2010 in Montanas famed Hell Creek Formation of the late Cretaceous, the 40-foot-long fossil took four years to excavate and prepare.

, The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? "Having all those animals swimming around our camera means theres clearly an important ecosystem process happening there," Craig Stevens, a physical oceanographer at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Auckland, New Zealand, said in the statement. 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. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). The cavern first appeared in 2012 and most of the ice that once occupied it melted in the last three years. Kacey Deamer is a journalist for Live Science, covering planet earth and innovation. ", 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. Pippin is just a whole new level. They published . However, the scientists waited years to make sure that they had the right tools to remove this stuff from the ice without breaking it. Jupiter and Venus 'kiss' in a stunning planetary conjunction tonight. Son Doong is the largest cave in the world, and also contains a number of large underground lakes. Meet the Great Eared-Nightjar, The Bird That Is Basically A Tiny Dragon. Such an interesting post, Anita. 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. Youve got this weird situation where Quetzalcoatlus is basically the first azhdarchid to be named, so it becomes the definition of the [group], and yet theres no good description of it, says Hone, who describes the situation as a giant loop of not being able to solve the problem properly.. NY 10036. Copyright 2023 Anita Hendrieka. A fossil from Antarctica is now the heaviest known animal in this group of prehistoric marine reptiles. Its amazing, she says, just to see how far were going., Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? If you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you, I will earn a small commission (for which I am very grateful). [Collapsing Beauty: Image of Antarctica's Larsen Ice Shelf], "Imagine your standard ice-cube tray, filled once. The amber adds to fossil evidence that many dinosaurs. No, this is not the name of that one metal band your cousin listens to. By The Siberian Times reporter . The fossil was found in a quarry just northwest of Richmond in June 2011 by Len . But there is so much more. When does spring start? NASA Found a Manhattan-Sized Cavern in Antarctica The cavern sits where nearly 14 billion tons of ice used to be, all of which melted in the last few years. (Though, it's been mentioned now, so kind of?) With its ends broken off, that vertebra had avoided identification for years: Paleontologists had even once tentatively described it as a leg bone. In late April 2020, two Chinese icebreakers made a port call in Shanghai to a large state media celebration. Two key advances offered a way off the Quetzalcoatlus merry-go-round. Find out which creatures belonged in this group, how they grew to incredible sizes, and how they've captivated both scientists and storytellers alike. Mining is illegal in Antarctica due to the Antarctic Treaty. He then proceeds to analyse the skeleton, before concluding that it could be an ancient dinosaur. Thankfully, they'll all miss. 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. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. The team thinks the newly described heavyweight belongs to the genus Aristonectes, a group whose species have been seen as outliers to other elasmosaurs, since they differed so much from fossilized specimens discovered in the U.S. In East Antarctica, there is a place where it looks like the continent is gushing out blood.