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Timelapse of swarming monster worms and sea stars

By Queuebot in Animal on Nov 27, 2009 at 10:11 pm


If you thought three-foot carnivorous worms and flesh-eating stars only occurred in science fiction, then welcome to the weird and wacky world of McMurdoe Sound. Despite near freezing temperatures, there is plenty of life in the shallow waters of Antarctica as nemertean worms and five-legged sea stars prowl along the seabed in search of food.

One of the most ambitious shoots BBC LIFE attempted, the sequence was filmed under the permanent ice of the Ross Sea. But because sea stars and nemertean worms move incredibly slowly, the team had to use time-lapse photography to bring them to life. The trickiest part, however, was trying to rig the gear under 8 feet of solid ice. Every piece of equipment had to be brought through a specially drilled hole in the ice and be monitored every day. In the end, it took the crew over 100 dives to get the sequence.

Link – via adaphorismos

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by rubberrepublic.


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COMMENT
  1. Christophe
    Nov 28th, 2009 at 12:15 am

    I want to be buried at sea now! :D

  2. Andygirl
    Nov 28th, 2009 at 12:43 am

    Um, I really feel I could've used a warning about the seal pup corpse being devoured.

  3. Ursula
    Nov 28th, 2009 at 7:51 am

    I hear ya, Andygirl. It was fascinating footage, and then all of a sudden there's a giant, dead seal baby being eaten. I knew all the animals would be eating something, but did it have to be perhaps the cutest creature on Earth?

  4. Skipweasel
    Nov 28th, 2009 at 11:47 am

    And that, chaps, is why the TV licence fee is as much as it is.

    As for the dead seal - our seven year old daughter was very taken with the dead seal and wanted to see more.

  5. LisaL
    Nov 28th, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Very interesting video. Surprised that one little seal could feed them for that long.

  6. pwscott
    Nov 28th, 2009 at 2:32 pm

    I like it. I'm the BBC took the time to make this one. :p

  7. SydneyClaire
    Nov 28th, 2009 at 3:03 pm

    This clip was really neat. I'm also amazed that the seal will be there all summer.

    We used to have a star in our saltwater aquarium, and they are so interesting to watch.

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