Giant arrowworm caught in Antarctic deep sea at 2000m depth

A giant arrow worm caught in the deep sea of ​​Antarctica, 2,000m below sea level, is drawing attention. Arrow worms are considered the key to solving the mystery of Antarctic biological evolution.



The Korea Polar Research Institute (Director Shin Hyung-cheol) succeeded in collecting giant arrow worms and hydrothermal minerals from the deep sea of ​​Antarctica. This is the first time in the world that a giant arrow worm has been collected and shown to the public.



The research team led by Dr. Park Sung-hyun of the Korea Polar Research Institute successfully caught a 10cm-long arrow worm (Chaetognatha, gnat) using deep-sea collecting equipment developed by the institute while exploring a hydrothermal vent at a depth of 2,000m at the Antarctic Central Ridge on the Araon in February.



The research team of the Korea Polar Research Institute succeeded in securing giant arrow worms (above) and hydrothermal minerals from the deep sea of ​​Antarctica. [Photo = Korea Polar Research Institute]



Arrow worms are medium-sized plankton with an average length of 0.5 to 3cm, and can be easily found in any sea. The 10cm specimen collected this time is unusual in size. The giant arrowworm was previously confirmed to exist in the Antarctic Mid-Ocean Ridge in 2017 using an underwater camera.



Arrowworms are a species whose genetic information is relatively unknown. The genome of this species is approximately 1 billion base pairs, similar to that of fish, but due to their small body size, it was difficult to obtain sufficient DNA for genome analysis. It is expected that the large specimen caught in the deep sea of ​​Antarctica will help solve this problem.

This discovery is expected to contribute to the discovery of genes adapted to the Antarctic deep sea environment and to the understanding of the evolution of the Earth's ecosystem. The Korea Polar Research Institute previously discovered a 30cm fossil of a primitive arrowworm in North Greenland and suggested that this species may have been the top predator in the early marine ecosystem. The exact reason why arrowworms evolved to become smaller has not been identified.



A giant arrowworm from Antarctica collected by the Korea Polar Research Institute research team. [Photo = Korea Polar Research Institute]



The hydrothermal ore collected by the research team is 102 pieces, and the total weight is 350kg. The seawater that infiltrates the mid-ocean ridge becomes hot water, called hydrothermal water, due to the influence of magma. This hydrothermal water melts the surrounding metals, and when it erupts outside the ridge and cools, it becomes hydrothermal ore.



The hydrothermal ore collected this time appears to be chalcopyrite and sphalerite, and is estimated to have high economic value as it contains useful metals such as copper and zinc. This is also the first time that hydrothermal ore has been directly collected from the mid-ocean ridge of the Antarctic Circle.



The need for research on the Antarctic central ridge is expected to increase further due to expectations about clues to biological evolution and mineral resources. The research team plans to continue exploring the Antarctic central ridge using an unmanned submersible later this year.



Shin Hyeong-cheol, director of the Polar Research Institute, said, "We hope that this gift from the unknown Antarctic sea will be widely used in research on the marine ecosystem and the evolution and physiology of invertebrates."





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