Spider Crab, Macroregonia macrochira: These crabs, up to 80cm in leg span, are major predators at Endeavour vents feeding on tubeworms and snails.
Photo: Dr Kim Juniper, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Octopus, Graneldone sp.: A couple of species of octopus are known from vent areas -- they are members of the normal deep-sea fauna that prey on molluscs around the vents.
Photo: Dr Kim Juniper (UQAM)

Vestimentiferan Tube Worms, Ridgeia piscesae: Vestimentiferans form the structural base for the hot vent community on the Ridge.
Photo: Dr Kim Juniper (UQAM)  

Black Smoker Landscape: Lush tubeworms bask in warm waters while a black smoker spews 400°C water from a 5m high chimney 2250m below the ocean surface.
Photo: Dr Verena Tunnicliffe, University of Victoria (UVic)

Rattail, Coryphaenoides acrolepis: A 70cm long rattail fish swims over a barren sea floor.
Photo: Dr Verena Tunnicliffe (UVic)

Palm Worms: The palm worm is found in most intermediate venting conditions. The large palm-like branchiae are used for gas exchange while the oral tentacles ingest bacteria from both surface and in the water.
Photo: Dr Kim Juniper (UQAM)

These "chains of pearls" are actually small limpets that are the most common animal seen at Endeavour hot vents. This remarkable species is capable of spanning nearly all hydrothermal habitats and can gather food in many ways. It has an association with microbes that colonize the gills. We believe the limpet 'farms' the bacteria as food. Among the limpets, vent palms worms (polychaetes) wave finger-like gills and pick up food suspended in the water. Both species are found only on Juan de Fuca Ridge
Photo: Dr Verena Tunnicliffe (UVic)

Close-up and personal on the tubeworms that inhabit the Endeavour hot vents. Ridgeia piscesae - found only on Juan de Fuca Ridge - was named for the Canadian submersible that first collected it. The brilliant red plumes are the worm's gills that take up dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide. Symbiotic bacteria are housed inside the white tube. The pink scale (lower centre) is a predator that often nips off part of the gills.
Photo: Dr Verena Tunnicliffe (UVic)

A deep-sea skate banks sharply as it encounters smoke billowing from a smoker chimney; tubeworms on a second chimney can be seen in the background. This skate species inhabits the surrounding deepsea but may visit vents to feed.
Photo: Dr Verena Tunnicliffe (UVic)

 Important Notices