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Spirodiscus groenlandicus

Mobile-home-building tubeworm known from Labrador and Madagascar also dwells in our deep sea

June 11, 2017

Elena Kupriyanova — Elena Kupriyanova at the microscope on the CSIRO RV Investigator. The voyage has found specimens of a tubeworm that manufactures its own unnattached calcareous home, to avoid being buried in deep-sea sediments. Image: Asher Flatt

All abyss blogs

The Shortarse Feelerfish and other conundrums
16 June 2017
Brittle-stars blow my mind
15 June 2017
Fish collectors hold the key to preservation
14 June 2017
Our fabulous forams prove abundant, diverse and unusually gigantic
13 June 2017
Beam us up Jérôme
12 June 2017
Mobile-home-building tubeworm known from Labrador and Madagascar also dwells in our deep sea
11 June 2017
First peek in the deep end of Freycinet Commonwealth Marine Reserve
10 June 2017
Abyssal espresso, coming right up!
9 June 2017
Sampling for microplastics, from surface waters to muddy sediments of the abyss
8 June 2017
We’ve created the first full street-view map of an Australian Commonwealth marine reserve
7 June 2017
This biologist is on a mission to map seafloor life across the globe
6 June 2017
Deploying elephantine weights from the height of Mt Kosciuszko
5 June 2017
Lizard fish are all green eyes and hinged teeth
4 June 2017
Processing the catch: a meeting of arcane art, lined paper and picklery
3 June 2017
Crinoids were the trigger for deep-sea exploration
2 June 2017
Mud, mud, glorious abyssal mud
1 June 2017
The faceless fish looks happier and heartier than it did in 1887
31 May 2017
Think twice before adding these to your seafood cocktail!
30 May 2017
Is this cute little coffinfish in need of a name?
29 May 2017
This metal marvel collects time capsules of life from the abyss
28 May 2017
Is a sea spider a collection of drinking straws from outer space?
27 May 2017
Getting the feel for eels
26 May 2017
These carnivorous sponges wield lethal weapons made of glass
25 May 2017
Sounding out a world of hidden folds and valleys beneath the waves
24 May 2017
Orbs, paddles, spines, ejecting jaws and silky smoothness: meet the polychaetes of Australia's abyss
23 May 2017
Always one hand for the ship, and other tips for motion-filled days at the office
22 May 2017
Tripod fishes find dinner with fins and rays, not eyes and teeth
21 May 2017
Exploring a perfect square of abyssal seafloor, one teaspoon of sediment at a time
20 May 2017
When sorting stars, cucumbers, tripods and toilet rolls, we all know a fridge from a Kombi
19 May 2017
Crustaceans beware when the dragon fish shines its red light of death upon you
18 May 2017
The sorting begins: four squid, some jellies, a baby eel and . . .
17 May 2017
I demonstrate the 'jacuzzi' as the land becomes a haze of twinkling lights
16 May 2017
We're all set to enter the world of jelly and fangs!
15 May 2017