THE GEOLOGY OF SEA-FLOOR MASSIVE SULPHIDES
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Anemones and barnacles in the KiloMoana vent field on the ELSC.
Photo courtesy of NSF Ridge 2000 program.
Even in peripheral areas with minimal exposure to very dilute vent fluid, one finds luxuriant communities of vent-endemic animals,
including several species of anemones and barnacles.
A species of Alvinoconcha snail and the
austinogreid crabs nestled in shimmering
waters on the Eastern Lau spreading centre.
Photo courtesy of NSF Ridge2000program.
In slightly cooler areas, both on chimneys and lavas, one can find high-biomass communities dominated by two genera of golf-ball-
sized snails and/or specialized mussels. They live with a variety of endemic shrimp, worms, and crabs that tolerate constant exposure
to warm, chemically rich, and normally toxic vent fluid.
Anemones and barnacles in the Kilo Moana vent field on the ELSC.
Photo courtesy NSF Ridge 2000 program.
Dense bed of the undescribed mussel
Bathymodiolus sp. on Monowai volcano,
Kermadec volcanic arc. Photo courtesy of
NOAA/NIWA/GNS.
Aggregations of the snail Ifremeria nautilai
on active hydrothermal chimneys on the
Eastern Lau spreading centre. Photo cour-
tesy of NSF Ridge 2000 program.
