Hydrothermal vents

Underwater volcanic chimneys where life does entirely without sunlight, fed instead by chemosynthesis.

Crabe yeti près d'une source hydrothermale (campagne Ifremer)
Harmless

Yeti crab

Kiwa hirsuta

Yeti crab

Discovered only in 2005 near Easter Island, this deep-sea crab literally farms bacteria on its hairy claws to feed on them.

🌊 1500–2500 m

  • ⚡ Literally farms bacteria on its own claws to feed on them
  • ⚡ Can form extremely dense aggregations, several hundred individuals per square metre
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Colonie de vers tubicoles géants près d'une source hydrothermale (campagne Ifremer)
Harmless

Giant tube worm

Riftia pachyptila

Giant tube worm

Lacking a mouth, stomach or anus, it lives entirely thanks to symbiotic bacteria that convert the toxic hydrogen sulfide of hydrothermal plumes into energy.

🌊 1500–2500 m

  • ⚡ Lives without a mouth or stomach, entirely nourished by internal symbiotic bacteria
  • ⚡ Its hemoglobin carries both oxygen and a deadly poison without harm, a unique biochemical feat
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