A newly named species from the Antarctic Ocean represents the rich and strange diversity of those frigid waters, where scientists have found new and unexpected creatures in recent years. In this case, a small “flower star” named after a strawberry resembles an alien mop head, or the facehugger from the movie Alien. But not to worry – the strange creature eats tiny plankton and has no interest in human faces.
Between 2008 and 2017, scientists used boats to trawl the Antarctic Ocean, hitting such locales as the South Orkney Islands, Elephant Island, the Davis Sea, and the South Sandwich Islands, all while looking for new specimens. They came up with the dramatic new flower star and three other crinoids, a group that’s related to starfish and sea urchins.
