Bizarre Beasts and Creepy Creatures

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Bizarre Beasts and Creepy Creatures
Tales of undiscovered life forms on Planet Earth
Professor Michael Gillings, Biological Sciences,
Macquarie University
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Biology Species Diversity
Orchids
Arachnids
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How many species do we know about?
Known species 1.5 million
Unknown species 8 to 100 million
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Birds Mammals Most species are known
(13,000).
Hawaiian Is. birds (EXTINCT)
Lord Howe Is. songbirds (EXTINCT 1920-1924)
Rate of discovery equals rate of extinctions
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Thylacine (EXTINCT 1933)
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Plants 250,000 of 270,000 species
Carnivorous Plants
Diatoms
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Marine Organisms
Species numbers unknown, but estimated that less
than I in 20 are described
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Plankton
Trawling using very fine plankton nets reveals a
world of amazing microscopic life
various planktonic forms
larval jellyfish
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More Plankton
Pyrocystis
diatoms
pterapods
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Deep Sea Squid
This individual is 4 to 5 meters long
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Sea spiders (Pycnogonids)
These are common in temperate zones, but often
overlooked because of their small size. They grow
much larger in the Antarctic
http//scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/nsf/gallery/gallery11.h
tml
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Seaweed? or...
Leafy Sea Dragons are actually fish. Because they
are highly territorial, collection can endanger
populations.
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Life in the Ocean Deeps
Deep sea exploration has discovered bizarre life
forms clustered around vents that spew out hot
sulphurous water
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Life in the Ocean Deeps
Black smokers support communities of tube worms,
clams and crabs
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The Pompeii worm
Alvinella pompejana lives under tremendous
pressure at the bottom of the ocean, in
heavy-metal laden water at 80oC
http//www.ocean.udel.edu/deepsea/level-2/creature
/worm.html
http//newsletter.dri.edu/2001/fall/closelook.htm
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The Vampire Squid
This deep-sea squid inverts its tentacles when
threatened, to reveal heavily spined ridges
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Methane Ice Worms
Bizarre worms burrow tunnels into mounds of
frozen methane on the sea floor. They feed on
bacteria that eat the methane.
Frozen methane (yellow)
Methane ice worm
http//www.science.psu.edu/iceworms/iceworms.html
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More deep water stuff
Teuthowinia a squid with a big head
Evermanella a nasty fish
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What the ?????
Strange animals lurk in the ocean deeps, where
the pressure is equivalent to having a skyscraper
made of lead sitting on you.
http//people.whitman.edu/yancey/echinoderms.html
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Sacoglossans the plantimals
Elysia
Placida
These sea slugs steal chloroplasts from seaweeds
and use them to photosynthesise
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Elysia chlorotica
Plant or Animal? The sea slug Elysia can
photosynthesise using chloroplasts it steals from
its algal food source
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More plantimals
Cassiopea, the upside down jellyfish, has algae
in its tentacles
Pteraeolidia, a nudibranch that farms brown algae
in its body
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Bacteria 4,800 of 1 million species
Teaspoon of soil 4,000 species 99 undescribed
Bergeys Manual 4,800 species
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Extremophiles
Organisms that live under conditions of extreme
heat, cold, acidity,
Mono Lake 3 x saltier than seawater, pH 10.7
Grand Prismatic Spring boiling volcanic water
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Thermophiles
Hot springs yield novel organisms with valuable
properties
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Some like it Hot
Pyrobaculum 100oC
Pyrococcus abyssi 96oC
Strain 121 Grows at 121oC (the current record
holder)
Pyrodictium occultum 105oC
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Life in the cold
Bacteria recovered from 3,600 meters below the
surface of Lake Vostok in the Antarctic interior
Microbial mats in Antarctic lakes
Bacteria have been found growing in surface snow
at the South Pole, where the ambient temperature
is -12 to -17oC
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Life at high radiation doses
Deinococcus radiodurans can tolerate radiation
doses 10,000 times that required to kill humans.
It can also survive high UV doses, highly toxic
chemicals and extreme desiccation
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Life deep in the Earth
Thermus sp. from Witswatersand gold mine
(deepest mine in the world)
Bacillus infernus from 2.7 km below the surface
It is now clear that life occurs in bedrock, and
that such intraterrestrials may account for
half of all biomass
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Cueva de Villa Luz
1997 Investigations of the Cueva de Villa Luz
revealed a complex ecosystem living in high
concentrations of hydrogen sulfide. Metabolism of
sulfur by bacteria supported an array of other
life forms. Sulfuric acid produced by the
bacteria accelerated cave formation.
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Life Underground Snottites
http//www.gwtc.net/pisarowi/pics/agastro.jpg
http//www.gwtc.net/pisarowi/pics/pisarowicz7.jpg
Bacteria produce polysaccharide slime that drips
from the cave roof snottites
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A Nullarbor Cave
Photo Peter Rogers
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Aliens underground Nullarbor microbial slime
curtains
Entrance to Cocklebiddy cave, Western Australia
Photo Peter Rogers
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Underground Cave Lake
Photo Peter Rogers
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Cave divers ( insane)
Photo Peter Rogers
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Diver amongst slime curtains
Photo Peter Rogers
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Microbial slime curtains
Photo Peter Rogers
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Microbial communities on cave roof
Photo Peter Rogers
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Life on other planets?
Jupiters moon Europa where there is water,
there may be life
http//nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/prop_missions
.htmleuropa http//planetary.org/news/articlearch
ive/headlines/1998/headln-072398.html