Life has been discovered living beneath the Antarctic ice sheet

Having drilled 900m through the ice this team of scientists found something incredible. Despite no light making its way through the ice, they found a boulder surrounded by sponges as well as 22 other species (including barnacles). Immobile life has not been found below the Antarctic ice before.

The scientists believe that these animals must be filter feeders, however there does not seem to be an obvious nutrient source anywhere nearby.

Nothing has yet been worked out about these species, there are similar organisms in the Antarctic that can live 10,000 years. It is also unclear how often that they need to eat – it is entirely possible that it is once a year, or perhaps even once a century.

A sponge was spotted on a nearby rock, showing that this boulder in question was not a one off.