Scientists Discover Alien-Like Creature Near Antarctica

A newfound species of marine creature, bearing an uncanny resemblance to an alien, has been found near the shores of Antarctica in the Southern Ocean. The remarkable discovery is of a new type of sea lily with an astonishing 20 "arms," which are long, movable appendages.

This finding has been reported by Business Insider. 

Researchers delving into the ocean's depths near Antarctica have identified this unique species, which, while resembling an otherworldly being in photographs, has been named after a familiar fruit.

Termed the "Antarctic Strawberry Sea Lily," officially known as Promachocrinus fragarius, this marine creature boasts 20 so-called "arms," with some being bulbous and others feather-like. These appendages can reach up to eight inches (20 cm) in length, as explained by Greg Rouse, a marine biology professor at the University of California, San Diego.

While this creature may appear more alien than strawberry-like, upon magnifying the proportions of its body—specifically, the tiny bump at the top of all these arms—it takes on the size and shape resembling that of a fruit.

Rouse points out that the round bumps on the creature's body are situated where cirri—small, tentacle-like appendages—would typically be. However, these cirri were removed to display the attachment points, resulting in the strawberry-like appearance.

He added that the cirri possess tiny hooks at their tips, which are employed to secure the creature to the seabed.

The so-called "arms" are the elongated, feather-like parts of the Antarctic Strawberry Sea Lily. Typically scattered, they assist the creature in movement.

Promachocrinus fragarius belongs to the Crinoidea class, which encompasses various marine creatures like starfish, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers. It's a subtype of feather star, earning it the less formal moniker "Antarctic Feather Star." "Fragarius" is derived from the Latin word for "strawberry."

Despite scientists having explored the marine fauna of the global ocean for quite some time, the coastal waters of Antarctica still conceal numerous undiscovered representatives of the animal kingdom, particularly invertebrates.

According to Rouse, initially, there was only one species in the Antarctic starfish group, known as Promachocrinus kerguelensis.

However, during expeditions conducted by a team of researchers from Australia and the USA through trawling from 2008 to 2017 along the coasts of Antarctica, they identified eight distinct species. Among these were four that had never been encountered before.

Thanks to this revelation, researchers were able to include these species under the category of Antarctic feather stars, reviving previously identified animals that were believed to be variations. This has led to a transition from a single species with 20 arms to eight species—six with 20 arms and two with 10 arms, all termed Promachocrinus.

It's worth noting that this new creature resides at depths ranging from 65 to 1170 meters.