Meet theEnypniastes eximia , a particularly ludicrous - looking rich - sea swimming cucumber perhaps better known by its nickname the “ brainless wimp monster ” ( for fairly obvious reasons ) .
The bubblegum - pink critter is commonly fleck lurkingin the Gulf of Mexicobut accord to theAustralian Antarctic Division , who oversaw the junket , this is the very first clock time it has been filmed in the Southern Ocean close to East Antarctica .
ocean cucumbers like theEnypniastes eximiaare regain in every stretch of sea , from seabeds just a few invertebrate foot below sea level to depths miles below the airfoil . They are close relatives to starfish and sea urchins and spend most of their time wandering along the seafloor , searching for modest food item , including plankton , algae , aquatic invertebrate , and waste matter particles .
This particular metal money of cucumber feeds episodically . WhenEnypniastes eximiais not hunting down quarry , it spends its time at leisure bob along in the water supply column just above the seafloor .
The Australian Antarctic Division ( which is a part of Australia ’s Department of the Environment and Energy ) find the specimen using raw underwater camera technology designed for long - argument fishing .
" The housing that protect the camera and electronics is design to attach to toothfish longlines in the Southern Ocean , so it ask to be super long-wearing , " Dr Dirk Welsford , Australian Antarctic Division Program Leader , said in astatement .
" We needed something that could be flip from the side of a boat , and would continue engage reliably under utmost pressure in the pitch blackamoor for tenacious periods of fourth dimension . "
The data collected during the expo will be presented during the 10 - day annual merging held by an international organization called the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources ( CCAMLR ) , begin today . Here , Australia will be looking to gain backup for a newEast Antarctic Marine Protected Areaintended to carry environmental auspices to conserve and protect the locality ’s unequalled wildlife .
" Some of the footage we are getting back from the tv camera is breathtaking , including species we have never meet in this part of the world , ” Welsford tot .
" Most importantly , the cameras are providing important entropy about areas of ocean floor that can resist this type of fishing , and sensible areas that should be avoided . "
Australian Antarctic Division / Department of the Environment and Energy
