A DIVER has braved sub-zero temperatures to get shots of creepy lifeforms five-hundred-feet below the surface.
The alien-looking creatures include a luminescent ‘lion’s mane’ jellyfish and an intestine-like golden ragworm.
This pink Hyperia galba is a rare species of zooplankton[/caption]
Marine biologist and photographer Alexander Semenov captured the amazing images.
The 34-year-old from Moscow had to brave temperatures of minus one point five degrees celsius at the White Sea Biological Station, Russia, off the Kandalaksha Bay.
He said: “When you see a lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) with over three feet dome diameter and over forty-nine feet of tentacles, in complete darkness – it’s amazing.
“There are many amazing facts about the ocean, and the deeper you go, the more you understand what is impressive and what is not.”
Lion’s mane jellyfish use stinging tentacles to eat prey such as fish[/caption]
This creature is called a Hydrozoan[/caption]
This is a creepy looking king ragworm[/caption]
He added: “Some of the creatures can even reach over seven feet in dome size and their tentacles can measure up to one hundred and twenty feet.
“Incredibly, these match the average height of a twelve-storey building.”
This sea snail looks more like alien-life[/caption]
Scyphozoa jellyfish look like flowers[/caption]
Semenov and his academic colleagues take snaps of creatures with specialist equipment.
They conduct their work in a remote Russian area with the nearest village being Poyakonda.
This area is accessed by boats in the summer and via snowmobiles during the winter
Semenov in the icy waters[/caption]
Some of the creatures look quite menacing[/caption]
The diver and researcher has devoted his life to investigating the invertebrates[/caption]
The researchers start their work in February and have to avoid being swept away by tidal currents and getting trapped under the ice.
Mr Semenov hopes his work will get young people interested in science and conservation.
He said: “These creatures have floated in the vast open space for millions of years, over this time evolution has made so many totally weird life forms, I’m extremely lucky to see this world with my own eyes.”
These swimming slugs are called sea angels[/caption]
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Ancient beasts: Some of the world's longest-living creatures
- Aldabra giant tortoise – Species has been known to live to up to 255 years old, making it the oldest terrestrial animal in the world
- Glass sponges (pictured) – Found in the East China Sea and Southern Ocean, examples have been found that are over 10,000 years old
- Great Basin bristlecone pine – One tree is the oldest in North America at 5,067 years old
- Endolith – A microspopic organism that lives inside rock. One was found on the ocean floor in 2013 generation time of 10,000 years
- Hydra – an ocean species that does not age, making it technically immortal
- Creme Puff – The oldest known domestic cat, who died in Austin Texas in 2005 aged 38 years and three days
- Jeanne Calment – French great grandmother who died at 122 years and 164 days in 1997. She outlived both her daughter and grandson by several decades.
Most read in Science
In other animal news, the world’s first public exhibition of juvenile olms, also referred to as ‘baby dragons’, is opening this month.
Animals and plants are dying out at the fastest rate since an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs.
And, mass elephant deaths in Botswana are baffling scientists as they struggle to work out what’s killing the creatures.
What’s your favourite sea creature? Let us know in the comments…
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