Scientists have found 77 species of unusual creatures at the depths of Antarctica’s Ekström ice shelf, a place that seemed to be a dead zone.

Extreme cold, eternal darkness and virtually non-existent food sources – that’s how the research team describes the extraordinary “oasis of life” they just found 200 meters below the ice shelf Ekström

This seemingly absurd “oasis of life” has preserved a total of 77 species of creatures with forms that cannot be seen anywhere else on Earth.

Research steps show that this “family” of 77 mysterious species has existed here since about 5,800-6,000 years ago, completely sealed in a dark “ice tomb”, completely separate from the outside world. above. The dating results were based on the sediment fragments they collected.

To find them, scientists drilled two holes with hot water to a depth of 200 meters. The drilling site is near the Neumayer III station in the Southeast Weddell Sea, several kilometers offshore.

The creatures include many species of screwworms, sea worms with tentacles, snake worms… and many creatures that are difficult to describe in words, some are bisexual, some have a lifespan of up to 45 years. The biodiversity inside this thousand-year-old “ice tomb” is absolutely shocking.

Lead author – Dr. David Barnes from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), said these creatures can survive thanks to a secret underground passage from this nearly closed body of water to the ocean. 3-9 km away, helping to bring enough algae to feed the creatures, because clearly many of them are seaweed-based species.

However, just existing in a place with no light and lacking many conditions necessary for life is shocking enough.

The discovery of unusual creatures that exist in seemingly uninhabitable places on Earth is an important foundation in the hunt for alien life, showing that life can still exist on Earth. harsh worlds, not unlike Earth.