National Geographic - TOP TEN PHOTO GALLERIES OF 2008

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Best Wild Animal Photos of 2008

Winner, "Underwater World" Category
Man and whale size each other up in the winner of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition's underwater category, announced on October 30, 2008. The photo was taken by Brian Skerry on assignment for National Geographic magazine off New Zealand's Auckland Islands, where a "pristine population" of southern right whales, in Skerry's words, was discovered only ten years ago. The U.S. photographer said he had deployed his assistant Mauricio Handler (pictured) as bait for this friendly 70-ton giant. "The whales were highly curious of us. Many of these animals had never seen a human before," Skerry told National Geographic News.

One Earth Award
A black colobus monkey has its fur singed in preparation for sale at an illegal bush-meat market in Gabon. The image won the One Earth Award, which "seeks to highlight the interaction between humans and the natural world," at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition on October 30, 2008. "They singe the fur off, then sell the animals naked but intact," U.K. photographer David Maitland explained. The shot was taken in Gabon's capital city, Libreville, where sea turtles, crocodiles, porcupines, antelopes, and other protected animals were openly on sale. "It was only afterwards that I realized how strong this image was," Maitland said. "It was very upsetting to be there."

Winner, "Animal Portraits" Category
"He would jump all over me, then run away," said Stefano Unterthiner of the black-crested macaque in this winning photo from the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. "He was always hanging around." Unterthiner followed a group of the monkeys on Indonesia's Sulawesi island for six weeks, always wearing the same clothes, so they would recognize him. The rare animals spend 99 percent of their time foraging in the forest and rarely venture along the shore, according to Unterthiner. Until recently the local tradition was to eat them for Christmas dinner, he added.

Winner, "Animal Behavior: All Other Animals" Category
An aptly named winner of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest, "Deadlock" was captured in the dead of night in a Belizean rain forest. U.K.-based David Maitland observed from midnight to 3 a.m. as a rare Morelet's tree frog doggedly refused to become supper for a cat-eyed snake--and still didn't see the conclusion. "I would love to have seen them go their separate ways, but I was exhausted," the photographer said. "The frog was all the time trying to pull the snake off, but the snake just wouldn't let go. "This frog is actually incredibly rare, which lends to the bizarre nature of the whole encounter," he said.

Winner, "Animal Behavior: Mammals" Category
French photographer Cyril Ruoso pursued the screams of hunting chimpanzees through dense forests in Tanzania's Gombe National Park--and captured this winner of the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, announced October 30, 2008, in London. The central and dominant figure, unwilling to share his half of a wild pig, is a 31-year-old male known as Frodo, lead hunter of his group. "Frodo is a warrior," Ruoso said. "He catches the prey 80 percent of the time." Such a large catch is rare for Gombe's chimpanzees, which usually target small monkeys, Ruoso said.

Winner, "Animal Behavior: Birds" Category
A snowy clash of white-tailed eagles during a Polish winter is among the winning images in the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, organized by BBC Wildlife Magazine and London's Natural History Museum.
After finding a dead moose next to a rail track, photographer Antoni Kasprzak waited five hours until the two birds, a juvenile and an adult, descended and began fighting over the carcass. "The old, more experienced bird won, forcing the immature eagle to wait its turn more than an hour," Kasprzak said.

Overall Winner
Stalking India's Hemis National Park, a snow leopard lives up to its name in U.S. photographer Steve Winter's award-winning National Geographic magazine image. On October 30, 2008, "Snowstorm Leopard" was named best overall photo in the 2008 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is organized by the Natural History Museum of London and BBC Wildlife Magazine. "This is the hardest story I have ever done because of the altitude and the steepness of the mountains," the U.S. photographer told National Geographic. "At night it was 30 below zero [Fahrenheit]." Over ten months Winter's 14 "camera traps" shot more than 30,000 frames in pursuit of the endangered cat. As few as 3,500 snow leopards remain in the wild.

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Chile Volcano Erupts With Ash and Lightning

After 9,000 years of silence, Chile's Chaiten volcano erupted, generating on May 3 what may have been a "dirty thunderstorm." These little-understood storms may be caused when rock fragments, ash, and ice particles collide to produce static charges--just as ice particles collide to create charges in regular thunderstorms. The eruption, which continued off and on for months, forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and cattle from this corner of Patagonia.

Seen from space on May 3, the plume from the Chaitin volcano drifts across the Andes mountains, Chile's eastern border, and the width of Argentina. Argentine officials reported ash fall over a wide area in that country, though nothing compared with the roughly 6-inch-deep (15-centimeter-deep) ash reported around the Chilean town of Chaitin, where many residents had to be evacuated by boat.

Photographed on May 4 from the evacuated town of Chaitin, Chile's Chaitin volcano has sent ash as high as 12 miles (19 kilometers) into the sky, according to May 6 reports. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the volcano last erupted around 7420 B.C., according to the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program.

In a haze of ash, Chileans navigate a road in the town of Futaleufz on May 5. Authorities began a second round of evacuations Monday as Chaitin continued erupting. The peak has been spitting some lava, but the main concern is a possible blast of pyroclastic flowa superheated, fast-moving, low-lying mix of toxic gas and ash. "Lava flow would not reach Chaitin [city], but hot fragments, ash, and gas could," government geologist Luis Lara told the Reuters news service.

A May 4, 2008, aerial view shows houses, fields, and forest smothered in ash near Chaitén, Chile, after the eruption of the volcano. Volcanic ash—more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) deep in some places—has also affected water supplies, according to the Reuters news agency.

Ash covers the Yelcho River near Chaitén, Chile, on May 4, 2008, after an eruption of the Chaitén volcano. After a 9,000-year slumber, the volcano has been erupting since May 2 and shows no signs of stopping. Government vulcanologist Luis Lara told reporters that the dangerous eruption could last for months.

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Eight Natural Wonders Added to UN Heritage List

Mount Sanqingshan National Park, China, Filed with forests, waterfalls, and fantastically shaped granite peaks and pillars, China's 56,710-acre (22,950 hectare) Mount Sanqingshan National Park was among the 174 wild sites--eight of them featured in this gallery--added to the UN World Heritage list in July 2008. Chosen by a committee of the UN's Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Heritage sites are natural and cultural areas recognized for their universal value to humanity.

July 9, 2008—The island of Surtsey, found 20 miles (32 kilometers) off the southern coast of Iceland, was formed by volcanic eruptions during the 1960s. Named this week as a new World Heritage site, the island provides scientists with a unique laboratory to study the process of colonization by plant and animal life. Borne by ocean currents, the first seeds arrived in 1964. Molds, bacteria, and fungi arrived the following year. Plants and invertebrates are now relatively abundant, as are bird species—89 and counting. Chosen by a committee of the UN's Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Heritage sites denote natural and cultural areas recognized for their universal value to humanity. This week officials added 27 new sites to the UNESCO list of 878 areas (679 cultural, 174 natural) worthy of preservation and protection.

Socotra Archipelago, Yemen, Dragon's blood trees grow in the archipelago, which consists of four islands and two rocky islets that trail for 150 miles (250 kilometers) off the Horn of Africa. "The site is of universal importance because of its biodiversity with rich and distinct flora and fauna: 37 percent of Socotra's 825 plant species, 90 percent of its reptile species, and 95 percent of its land snail species do not occur anywhere else in the world," the UNESCO World Heritage Committee said in a press statement on July 8, 2008.

Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Canada, Full of ancient fossils dating as far back as 354 million years ago, this 9-mile (14.7-kilometer) tract of coastal cliffs in Nova Scotia is among eight new natural wonders added in July 2008 to the United Nations list of World Heritage sites. Once a rain forest teeming with life, the cliffs hold fossils from 148 ancient species and 20 groups of fossil footprints.

Lagoons of New Caledonia (France), Pacific Ocean , Part of a French-controlled island cluster located about 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) east of Australia, the lagoons of New Caledonia—including those around the islet pictured above—make up the third largest coral reef structure in the world. The healthy, intact marine ecosystems are home to threatened fish species, turtles, and the world's third largest population of dugongs, large vegetarian mammals related to manatees. The lagoons were named a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2008.

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico , Every year millions, if not billions, of monarch butterflies—such as the ones seen above—winter in densely forested mountains 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Mexico City.
"In the spring these butterflies begin an eight-month migration that takes them all the way to Eastern Canada and back, during which time four successive generations are born and die," the World Heritage Committee said in a written statement upon announcing new sites in July 2008.

Saryarka Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan, Split between the Naurzum and Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserves, the wetlands that grace this 1.1 million acre (450,344 hectare) region provide a key stopover on the Central Asia flyway for migratory water birds from Africa, Europe, and South Asia. The steppe and lakes in this mostly dry region were named to the United Nation's list of natural World Heritage sites in July 2008.

Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, Switzerland , A textbook example of mountain building through continental collision, this mountainous area in northeast Switzerland has been studied by geologists since the 1700s. The area was named a UNESCO World Heritage site on July 8, 2008.

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Hurricane Ike

In a picture from National Geographic News's tenth most viewed photo gallery of 2008, Sylvia Renteria recoils as a wave churned by Hurricane Ike meets a seawall in Galveston, Texas, on September 12. Before landfall, the National Weather Service's chilling warnings of "certain death" spurred officials and residents of the coastal town to gird for the worst--and stoked fears of a replay of the devastating 1900 Galveston hurricane that killed 6,000.

Hurricane Ike swirls above the Gulf of Mexico on September 10, 2008. On a trajectory for the Texas coast, the storm--seen here from the International Space Station-- was a Category 2 hurricane with peak winds of about 105 miles (169 kilometers) an hour.

Residents of the Edgewater Retirement Community in Galveston, Texas, line up to board an evacuation bus ahead of Hurricane Ike on September 11, 2008. The hurricane's expected 25-foot (7.6-meter) storm surge and flooding have prompted National Weather Service officials to issue a strong advisory against staying put during the storm. "We rarely issue this [type of] warning unless there is a severe, impending catastrophe," said Chris Sisco, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. "It's very serious."

The Gresham House (above, center), now known as the Bishop's Palace, escaped the devastating hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900, as seen in a September 8, 1900, photo. More than 6,000 people were killed and 10,000 left homeless as the unnamed storm leveled entire neighborhoods.

On September 13 a worker inspects damage in front of the JPMorgan Chase Tower in downtown Houston, Texas, after powerful Hurricane Ike slammed into the Gulf Coast, damaging buildings, flooding streets, and knocking out power for millions of people. With winds reaching 110 miles (177 kilometers) an hour, Ike came ashore above Galveston, Texas, as a strong Category 2 storm just after 3 a.m. ET.

A building sits damaged in Galveston, Texas, on September 13, 2008, after Hurricane Ike made landfall over the island community in the early hours on Saturday. Despite strong warnings from government officials, more than ten thousand people chose to stay in coastal areas as Ike approached. "We'll probably do the largest search-and-rescue operation that's ever been conducted in the state of Texas," Andrew Barlow, spokesperson for Texas Governor Rick Perry, told the Associated Press.

Black smoke pours from a burning beach house in Galveston, Texas, on September 12, 2008, a day before Hurricane Ike came ashore over the barrier island as a Category 2 storm. Even hours before making official landfall, Ike's strong winds were pushing surges of water over the Galveston seawall, and flooded streets kept emergency crews from reaching the blaze.

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Best Microscopic Images of 2008

First Place: Diatom Rainbows
Sinewy filaments within squirming microscopic diatoms, a type of algae, are artificially rainbow hued as a result of being photographed through polarizing light filters. Captured by retired British microscopist Michael Stringer, the photo took top prize--and U.S. $3,000--in the 2008 Small World Photomicrography Competition, organizers announced on October 15. Sponsored by Nikon, the annual contest showcases "the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope."

Second Place: Nanotube Factory
Glowing-hot carbon nanotubes form an expanding orange ball in this image by Paul Marshall of Canada's Institute for Microstructural Sciences, a winner in the 2008 Small World photomicrography competition. The nanotubes are elongated, hollow cylinders of carbon atoms. To make a carbon nanotube--just 1/50,000 the width of a human hair--a piece of carbon (graphite) must be heated, for example by lasers or electricity. And sometimes, Marshall says, the heated mass of nanotubes grows like a bulb in the spring.

Third Place: Flower Power
Albert Tousson of the University of Alabama was recently testing a new laser microscope in his lab and put a petal of a lily of the valley under the lens, which magnified the petal 1,300 times--resulting in his winning photo in the 2008 Small World photomicrography competition. The enhanced color of the petal's red cell walls and green and yellow starch granules comes from the laser light, which causes molecules within these substances to fluoresce--the same phenomenon that gives objects under black lights an eerie glow.

Fourth Place: Deprived Amoebas
Cell-therapy researcher Matthew Springer took this snapshot of growing amoebas--magnified a hundred times--as part of his postdoctoral research at Stanford University. Springer wanted to know whether these organisms, Dictyostelium discoideum, would continue to grow even when deprived of a crucial motor protein, myosin. He discovered that myosin is only needed for the first and final stages of the amoeba's development and that, in all stages between, myosin is like a candy bar after lunch--nice but not needed.

Fifth Place: Paper Chase
Although it looks like a close-up of a bag of grass clippings, Charles Kazilek's laser microscopic image of Japanese paper reveals just how randomly ordered even some of the plainest things are--especially when magnified a hundred times. Kazilek studies both the art and science of fine papermaking at Arizona State University. Fluorescing as a result of the microscope's laser light, the "green" and "blue" fibers' compositions and structures are exposed.

Sixth Place: Dancing on the Head of a Pin
Certain medieval theologians--who puzzled over how many angels could dance on the head of a pin--would have had a field day with this picture by retired entomologist Klaus Bolte of Canada. Evidently one, and only one, tiny leaf beetle can dance on this pin's head--the silvery circle in this 40 X photo. The beetle's rainbow colors, by the way, are all natural.

Seventh Place: Interesting Drug
Kentucky cancer researcher Margaret Oechsli tinkers with microscopic photography. She recently put the antibiotic powder mitomycin under her lens, as shown in her winning entry in the Small World photo contest. Viewed through polarizing filters, the drug gave off colors that reveal its complex crystal structure. When pursuing photomicrography for pleasure, she said in a statement, "I am more interested in an artistic/abstract image" than in a substance's medicinal merit. "I always go for visual impact."

Eighth Place: Swirling Dervish
Tabletop chemistry takes a photogenic turn in this winning microphotograph by John Hart of the University of Colorado, who specializes in fluid dynamics. Mixing sulfur, an organic blue dye, and an antiseptic, Hart created a crystal containing a complex structure of bubbles and fault lines. Illuminated with polarized light, the compound glows with green and salmon hues that give it the appearance of a palm thicket attacked by overzealous bugs.

Ninth Place: Compact Discovery
Using polarized light and 5 X magnification, David Walker of Britain was able to coax a wide palette of colors from the center of an ordinary CD case. Walker enjoys "showing how common objects around the home can look extraordinary when studied under the microscope," he told the organizers of the 2008 Small World photo contest.

Tenth Place: Sand Hopper
The sand hopper--a tiny, nocturnal beach crustacean native to New Zealand--is shown in its natural glory in this winner from the 2008 Small World Photomicrography Competition. Harold Taylor of the United Kingdom used a 10 X microscope--and no funny business. Taylor avoided "the stylized, false-color type of image which is so prevalent," he said in a statement.

Honorable mention: Under intense magnification, a long-fin squid's suckers--each no wider than a human hair--resemble the leafy star of Little Shop of Horrors. This electron-micrograph image may have only won an honorable mention in the 2008 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, but thanks to enthusiastic bloggers, these suckers were the breakout stars of National Geographic News's gallery of the contest's highlights, posted on September 25. Among the other marquee attractions: a bugged-out take on the Mad Hatter's tea party and a "glass forest."

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Colossal Squid Revealed in First In-Depth Look

The carcass of a colossal squid floats in a tank at the Museum of New Zealand on April 30, giving scientists their first close look at the elusive deep-sea creature. The squid was frozen for months after being caught by fishers off Antarctica in 2007. A dissection of the thawed beast yielded astonishing discoveries, including the animal kingdom's largest eyes and light-emitting organs that may serve as cloaking devices, scientists said. At 26 feet (8 meters) long, it is believed to be the largest squid ever captured. Experts froze the animal, a female, soon after its capture to preserve it for study. Biologists are now thawing the squid and have already begun analyzing its unique features, including swiveling hooks found on the ends of its tentacles and eyes as big as dinner plates. Scientists believe colossal squid may grow as long as 46 feet (14 meters), but because the creatures live at such great depthup to 6,500 feet (1,980 meters)sightings are extremely rare. The species was first identified in 1925 from two tentacles found in the stomach of a sperm whale. The first live sighting of a colossal squid came in 2003, when fishers caught a 20-foot (6-meter) male in Antarctica's Ross Sea.

The eye of a colossal squid nearly fills the frame in a photo taken on April 30, 2008. The squid is currently being studied at the Te Papa Tongarewa museum in Wellington, New Zealand. The giant, caught by fishers last year, has the largest known eyes of any animal on Earth, measuring some 11 inches (28 centimeters) across, scientists mentioned. "This is the only intact eye [of a colossal squid] that's ever been found," Kat Bolstad told the Associated Press. Bolstad, a biologist at Auckland University of Technology who specializes in squid, is part of a team of international researchers brought to the museum to examine the creature. "It's spectacular," Bolstad said.

Biologist Eric Warant of Sweden's University of Lund holds lenses taken from the eyes of a colossal squid on April 30, 2008. The squid is currently being studied in New Zealand. The giant sea creature, caught last year off Antarctica, is believed to be the biggest squid ever captured, and scientists have determined that it has the largest eyes of any known animal. The squid's enormous eyes are adapted to life in the inky depths, Warant noted. "[Each eye] has a huge lens the size of an orange and captures an awful lot of light in the dark depths in which it hunts," he told the Associated Press.

The black beak of a colossal squid, shown on April 30, 2008, hints at the giant's mighty bite. The squid, caught last year off Antarctica, is being examined by scientists hoping to learn more about the elusive creature and its habits. Experts studying the specimen at the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand, measured the beak at 1.67 inches (4.25 centimeters) in length. Beaks as long as 2 inches (4.9 centimeters) have been found in the stomachs of sperm whales, the scientists noted, suggesting that colossal squid can grow much larger than the current specimen.

Photographed on April 30, 2008, the tips of a colossal squid's tentacles bear swiveling hooks, one of the deep-sea creature's most unique features. The colossal squid is thought to be an aggressive hunter and may have been the inspiration for many legends of sea monsters, such as Norway's kraken. Despite its fearsome reputation, however, the colossal squid is known to dine on fare like the Patagonian toothfish (photos)the same prey fishers were seeking last year when they caught this giant off the coast of Antarctica.

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Alien-like Squid Seen at Deep Drilling Site

A mile and a half (two and a half kilometers) underwater, this alien-like, long-armed, and--strangest of all--"elbowed" Magnapinna squid is seen in a still from a video clip obtained by National Geographic News from and published on November 24. The video--obtained by a Shell oil company ROV (remotely operated vehicle) at an ultra-deep oil- and gas-drilling site--sparked shocked reactions everywhere.

November 24, 2008--A mile and a half (two and a half kilometers) underwater, this alien-like, long-armed, and--strangest of all--"elbowed" Magnapinna squid is seen in a still from a video clip recently obtained by National Geographic News. Filmed by a Shell oil company ROV (remotely operated vehicle) on November 11, 2007, the squid was at the Perdido oil- and gas-development site in the Gulf of Mexico. The video is evidence of how, as oil- and gas-industry ROVs dive deeper and stay down longer, they are yielding valuable footage of deep-sea animals. Some biologists have even formed partnerships with oil companies, allowing scientists to share camera time on corporate ROVs--though critics worry about possible conflicts of interest.

In another still from the November 2007 video, the Magnapinna's long arms hang from the squid's characteristic "elbows." Scientists speculate that the animals feed by dragging their arms along the seafloorand grabbing prey--or perhaps the squid passively wait for prey to get stuck on one of the sticky appendages. Much about Magnapinna, including its diet, remains unknown, because no intact adult specimens have been captured for direct study--dead or alive. What we do know comes mainly from analysis of videos like the one captured at the Perdido site and off Hawaii in 2001. That video clearly shows the undulating, winglike flaps that gave Magnapinna ("big fin") its name--as well as the distinctive tentacles, extended at right angles and trailing like fishing lines. Whereas giant squid and other cephalopods have eight short arms and two long tentacles, Magnapinna have ten appendages that all appear to be the same length.

Adult Magnapinna--such as this one filmed by an MBARI ROV in 2001 off Hawaii--range from 5 to 23 feet (1.5 to 7 meters) long, based on video evidence (no intact adult specimen has been captured, dead or alive). By contrast, the largest known giant squid measured about 16 meters (52 feet) long. About a dozen Magnapinna have been seen by deep-sea submersibles since 1988.

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Giant Unknown Animals Found off Antarctica

Collected from deep Antarctic seas, this 9.8-inch-long (25-centimeter-long) giant sea spider was one of 30,000 animals--many new to science--found during a 35-day census in early 2008 and featured in a National Geographic News gallery on March 28. Other odd discoveries included a balloon-like sea squirt and giant starfish.

March 28, 2008—Giant sea stars or starfish that measure 24 inches (60 centimeters) across are held by Sadie Mills, left, and Niki Davey of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research on February 15, 2008. They and other researchers collected 30,000 sea creatures—many new to science—during a 35-day census in Antarctic waters in February and March, according to a March 26 announcement. The large-scale survey was part of the International Polar Year and Census of Antarctic Marine Life programs, which study the diversity of Antarctic marine life.

This hydroid—likely a new species—measures 2.5 inches (6.5 centimeters) across its head and has stalks over 39 inches (100 centimeters) long. The colorful coral-like animal was snagged from one of 39 sites surveyed by New Zealand scientists in southern Antarctica's Ross Sea in February and March 2008. On the 2,000-mile (3,218-kilometer) journey, the team collected specimens from the surface to the seabed, where this hydroid was found.

A mysterious animal with a small crustacean perched on its back floats 7,218 feet (2,200 meters) below the surface in the Ross Sea off southern Antarctica. The 19-inch-long (50-centimeter-long) creature might be a tunicate, or sea squirt, say scientists who found it during a large-scale survey of Antarctic life in early 2008. The Antarctic summer's perpetual daylight meant that the New Zealand team could canvass the sea day and night.

An Antarctic octopus found at 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) in southern Antarctica's Ross Sea was one of about 18 octopus species recorded during a survey conducted in early 2008. New Zealand scientists estimate they also collected 88 species of fish8 of which are new speciesas well as 8 species of squid on the 50-day journey.

This predatory fish, called a stareater, uses its luminous red chin appendage to lure prey into striking distance.
The fish was one of more than 30,000 marine creatures hauled up by a team of 26 scientists and 18 crew during a census of Antarctic life in early 2008. The team endured icy weather as cold as 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 13 degrees Celsius)—which caused equipment to freeze up and samples to ice over as soon as they landed on deck.

The New Zealand crew of the Tangaroa vessel conducted parallel sonar sweeps (pictured in a photo illustration) to map the geography of Antarctic sea life as part of a marine census in February and March 2008. The team also used advanced video imaging to photograph the seafloor to a depth of 2.1 miles (3.5 kilometers)—resulting in eye-opening images of little-known polar animals.

This 19-inch-long (50-centimeter-long) daggertooth sports a striking iridescent body and sapphire blue eyes.
An Antarctic neighbor of the predatory stareater, this fish is one of the southernmost daggertooths ever caught, said New Zealand scientists who captured it during a marine census in early 2008. The animal uses its long mouth and forward-curved teeth to immobilize prey, clamping down and pulling back to tear through and paralyze the victim's spine.

This shrimplike crustacean was collected 985 feet (300 meters) deep on the Ross Sea shelf, during a marine census led by New Zealand scientists in early 2008. This amphipod species was first discovered during a 2004 Antarctic voyage aboard the research ship Tangaroa. The tiny creatures are found in both seawater and fresh water, as well as in mud and sand.

This sea cucumber—held by Sadie Mills of New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research—is known as a sea pig. Mills and colleagues collected the organism, among more than 30,000 animals, during a marine census of southern Antarctica in early 2008. Sea cucumbers are part of a group of marine animals that inhabit the seafloor, including sea squirts, sea stars (starfish), sea slugs, corals, clams, sponges, and urchins.

High-powered cameras photographed this sea star or a starfish of the genus Labediaster (lower left) surrounded by brittle stars on a seamount 492 feet (150 meters) below the surface of Antarctica's Ross Sea. The early-2008 marine survey is expected to yield eight new mollusk species, Stefano Schiaparelli of Italy's National Antarctic Museum in Genoa told the Associated Press. "This is a new brick in the wall of Antarctic knowledge," he said.