30 new species of living creatures discovered under the ice crust of Antarctica (6 photos + 1 video)
What do we humans even know about the planet we live on? Take Antarctica, for example. We're used to thinking of it as full of snow and penguins. But hidden beneath the thick ice are real "aliens." In March 2025, the Schmidt Ocean Institute expedition aboard the Falkor (too) descended into the Southern Ocean and returned with a sensation. 
Scientists have discovered thirty new species of sea creatures that look like they escaped from the set of a sci-fi film. These discoveries have turned the waters around the South Sandwich Islands and the Bellingshausen Sea into a veritable laboratory of evolution.
The star of the show was the predatory sponge Chondrocladia, already dubbed the "Death Ball." At a depth of three and a half kilometers, it hangs like a perfect ball, studded with hooks, catching everything that floats past. This is no filter sponge, but a true hunter that tears its prey apart.
Next to it, scaly Eulagisca worms crawl, covered in iridescent armor, like knights from the underwater kingdom. Their scales sparkle with a rainbow of colors, protecting them from pressure and predators.
But the real discovery was the "zombie worms" Osedax. These creatures have no mouth, intestines, or stomach. They burrow into the bones of dead whales and feed through the skin with the help of bacteria that break down proteins. Females grow to several centimeters, and males live inside them as parasites. Scientists found them on the remains of vertebrates at a depth of three kilometers, where the pressure is hundreds of times greater than on the surface.
Other discoveries include new species of starfish, crustaceans, and mollusks that adapted to volcanic zones after the melting of iceberg A-84. These creatures live in complete darkness, at temperatures near freezing, and feed on rainfall.
Their discovery proves that Antarctica hides millions more unknown species. Scientists say we've only explored five percent of the ocean. And beneath the ice, perhaps, an entire civilization awaits.
A new starfish was discovered by the ROV SuBastian at a depth of 1,107 meters.
