Photos: Creatures of the Deepest Deep-Sea Vents

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By Stephanie Pappas
published

Beebe Black Smoker

A black smoker at the Beebe Vent field

(Image credit: University of Southampton / NOC)

A "black smoker" vent at the Beebe Vent Field, the world's deepest known hydrothermal vent area.

Beebe Anemones

Anemones at the Beebe vent field in the Caribbean.

(Image credit: University of Southampton / NOC)

Anemones line cracks where warm water seeps into the deep ocean at the Beebe vent field

Shrimp Galore

Shrimp on the Beebe vents.

(Image credit: University of Southampton / NOC)

A vent at the Beebe vent field crawls with a newly discovered species of shrimp.

AutoSub6000

AutoSub6000 in the Caribbean.

(Image credit: University of Southampton / NOC)

The torpedo-shaped AutoSub6000 launches. This robot sub is used to locate and study deep-sea vents.

Vent Location

Vent location for Beebe and Von Damm vent fields.

(Image credit: University of Southampton / NOC)

This map shows the location of the new vent fields in the Caribbean.

HyBIS

Deep-sea vehicle HyBIS

(Image credit: University of Southampton / NOC)

The unmanned deep-sea vehicle HyBIS launches on an expedition to the vents.

Von Damm Shrimp

Shrimp on the Von Damm vents.

(Image credit: University of Southampton / NOC)

A skinny fish cavorts amidst a crush of shrimp at the Von Damm vent field in the Caribbean.

New Shrimp

New shrimp at Caribbean vent fields.

(Image credit: University of Southampton / NOC)

The new shrimp species has a patch of light-sensitive cells on its back.

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.