Scientists have uncovered communities of marine life, including jellyfish, tubeworms, and brittle stars, thriving on a millions-year-old whale graveyard in the southeastern Indian Ocean. These graveyards form when whale carcasses sink to the sea floor, providing a nutrient-rich snack for nearby creatures. This particular site, located up to 23,000 feet (7 kilometers) below the surface, spans the largest area and is the deepest and oldest such find to date.
Formation of Underwater Neighborhoods
The sheer size of whales and the unique chemistry of their bones are crucial for creating these specialized underwater habitats. Xikun Song, a biologist with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, noted that the deep ocean's nature makes these sites exceptionally difficult to locate. Song was involved in the latest discovery.
Exploration and Findings
Researchers explored the remains during multiple deep-sea submersible trips in 2023. They collected samples and mapped the extent of the necropolis, finding five carcass sites and fossils, including skulls from beaked and baleen whales. The oldest bones date back 5.3 million years. Feeding and living on the carcasses were myriad creatures, such as sea cucumbers, squat lobsters, and saltwater clams. Many are likely species never before documented, according to findings published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Preservation Factors
Several factors likely contributed to preserving the bones for millions of years. They are dense enough to withstand attacks from bone-eating worms and located deep enough to avoid burial by dust and particles. A light coating of minerals from seawater may have prevented degradation. The area's V-shaped topography may have funneled remains to their resting spot. The cause of the whales' deaths remains uncertain, but natural causes, exhaustion, or illness from deep-sea diving are possibilities.
Importance of the Discovery
Such discoveries are crucial for understanding how life adapts to extreme conditions, including lack of light, oxygen, and incredibly high pressure, said study co-author Giovanni Bianucci, a paleontologist at the University of Pisa. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
