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"Lost World" Yeti Crab SwarmAn unnamed new species of Yeti crab swarms near hot, mineral-rich hydrothermal vents in the oceans off Antarctica—a newfound "lost world" of strange deep-sea species, scientists say.(See picture: ""Yeti Crab" Discovered in Deep Pacific.")A camera-equipped submersible robot filmed species such as barnacles, crabs, anemones, and even an octopus, all of which are mostly colorless and live in utter darkness at depths of 7,875 feet (2,400 meters), according to a new study.About 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) east of the southern tip of South America, "this is a new province of deep-sea life, something like a new continent, and it's a place we've been trying to [reach] for a long time," said study co-author Jon Copley, a marine biologist at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom."It harbors some of the lushest abundance of life I have ever seen in the deep ocean," he said.(Pictures: "Lost World" of new Species Found in Indonesia.)The species of Antarctica's "lost world" were described this week in the journal PLoS Biology.—Dave Mosher
Photograph courtesy NERC CHESSO Consortium

"Lost World" of Odd Species Found Off Antarctica (Pictures)

Swarms of yeti crabs and a ghostly octopus are among the new species spotted near hydrothermal vents, a new study says.

Published January 6, 2012