Bizarre Beasts Bizarre Beasts and Creepy and Creepy CreaturesCreaturesTales of undiscovered life Tales of undiscovered life

forms on Planet Earthforms on Planet Earth

Professor Michael Gillings, Biological Professor Michael Gillings, Biological Sciences, Macquarie UniversitySciences, Macquarie University

Biology: Species

Diversity

OrchidsOrchids ArachnidsArachnids

How many How many species do do we know about?we know about?

Known Known species: species:

1.5 1.5 millionmillion

Unknown Unknown species: species: 8 to 100 8 to 100 million million

Birds & Mammals: Most species are

known (~13,000).

Lord Howe Is. songbirds (EXTINCT 1920-1924)

Rate of discovery equals rate of extinctions

Hawaiian Is. birds (EXTINCT)

Thylacine (EXTINCT 1933)

Plants: 250,000 of

270,000 species

Carnivorous Plants

Diatoms

Marine Organisms

Species numbers unknown, but

estimated that less than I in 20 are

described

various planktonic

forms

PlanktonTrawling using very fine plankton nets reveals a

world of amazing microscopic life

larval jellyfish

Pyrocystis

diatoms

pterapods

More Plankton

Deep Sea Squid

This individual is 4 to 5 meters long

http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/nsf/gallery/gallery11.html

Sea spiders (Pycnogonids)

These are common in temperate zones, but often overlooked because of their small size. They grow much

larger in the Antarctic

Seaweed? or...

Leafy Sea Dragons are actually fish. Because they

are highly territorial,

collection can endanger

populations.

Life in the Ocean Deeps

Deep sea exploration has discovered bizarre life forms clustered around vents that

spew out hot sulphurous water

Life in the Ocean Life in the Ocean DeepsDeeps

Black smokers support communities of tube worms, clams

and crabs

http://newsletter.dri.edu/2001/fall/closelook.htm

http://www.ocean.udel.edu/deepsea/level-2/creature/worm.html

The Pompeii wormAlvinella pompejana lives

under tremendous pressure at the bottom of the ocean, in heavy-metal laden water at 80oC

The Vampire SquidThis deep-sea squid inverts

its tentacles when threatened, to reveal heavily spined ridges

Methane Ice Worms

http://www.science.psu.edu/iceworms/iceworms.html

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

More deep water stuff

Teuthowinia: a squid with a big

head

Evermanella: a nasty fish

Strange animals lurk in the Strange animals lurk in the ocean deeps, where the ocean deeps, where the pressure is equivalent to pressure is equivalent to

having a skyscraper made of having a skyscraper made of lead sitting on you.lead sitting on you.http://people.whitman.edu/~yancey/

echinoderms.html

What the ?????

Sacoglossans: the “plantimals”

These sea slugs steal chloroplasts from seaweeds

and use them to photosynthesise

ElysiaPlacida

Plant or Plant or Animal?Animal?

The sea slug The sea slug ElysiaElysia can can

photosynthesise photosynthesise using chloroplasts using chloroplasts it steals from its it steals from its algal food sourcealgal food source

Elysia chlorotica

Cassiopea, the upside

down jellyfish, has algae in its tentacles

More More “plantimal“plantimal

s”s”

Pteraeolidia, a nudibranch

that farms brown algae in its body

Bergey’s Manual: ~4,800 species

Teaspoon of soil:

4,000 species

99% undescr

ibed

Bacteria: 4,800 of 1 million species

ExtremophilesOrganisms 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

Thermophiles

Hot springs yield novel organisms with valuable

properties

Pyrococcus abyssi 96oC

Pyrodictium occultum 105oC

Pyrobaculum 100oC

Some like it Hot

Strain 121: Grows at 121oC (the

current record holder)

Life in the cold

Microbial mats in Antarctic lakes

Bacteria recovered from 3,600 meters

below the surface of Lake Vostok in the Antarctic interiorBacteria have been found growing in

surface snow at the South Pole, where the ambient temperature is -12 to -

17oC

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

Life at high radiation doses

It is now clear that life occurs in bedrock, and that such

“intraterrestrials” may account for half of all biomass

Bacillus infernus from 2.7 km below the surface

Thermus sp. from Witswatersand gold mine (deepest mine

in the world)

Life deep in the Life deep in the EarthEarth

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.

Life Life Underground: Underground:

SnottitesSnottites

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Bacteria produce polysaccharide slime

that drips from the cave roof: “snottites”

Photo: Peter Photo: Peter RogersRogers

A Nullarbor Cave

Aliens underground:

Nullarbor microbial slime

curtains

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Entrance to Cocklebiddy Entrance to Cocklebiddy cave, Western Australiacave, Western Australia

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Cave Lake

Cave divers (= insane)

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Diver amongst slime curtains

Photo: Peter Photo: Peter RogersRogers

Photo: Photo: Peter Peter RogersRogers

Microbial slime curtains

Microbial communities on

cave roof

Photo: Peter Photo: Peter RogersRogers

Life on other Life on other planets?planets?

Jupiter’s moon Europa; where Jupiter’s moon Europa; where there is water, there may be lifethere is water, there may be lifehttp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/

prop_missions.html#europa prop_missions.html#europa http://planetary.org/news/articlearchive/headlinhttp://planetary.org/news/articlearchive/headlin

es/1998/headln-072398.htmles/1998/headln-072398.html