“It’s so dry that NASA used parts of it to test rockets on Mars.” 6 extreme places on Earth where you can still find life | Find Wildlife

You can expect an abundance of flora and fauna in tropical rainforests, colorful coral reefs or dense jungles. But many of these habitats are in a unique position to promote and maintain biodiversity, such as having a specific climate or water source, which helps support complex food chains.

Not all sites have this, some are more extreme. However, even in some unusual places, you will still find life – as this list shows.

Deep ocean hydrothermal vents

Hydrothermal vents are cracks in the ocean, where hot water comes out. These waves are often found in volcanic areas where tectonic plates move, such as in the deep western Pacific.

Here, scientists have found that these holes not only release boiling water, but also levels of hydrogen sulphide (a poisonous gas) and arsenic (a strong carcinogen) that can kill many animals.

Surprisingly, they found an animal living happily in the hottest parts of these holes: Paralvinella hessleria kind of worm. These critters can survive with high levels of arsenic in their bodies – reducing it by absorbing sulfide from the surrounding seawater.

Other creatures found to thrive in water heater vents are Pompeii worms, one of the world’s most heat tolerant animals, and giant tube worms, which actually depend on the toxic water from water heater vents to survive.

Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is the world’s driest non-polar desert. Its conditions are so dry that NASA has used parts of it to test Mars rovers.

Although some wild animals live near the desert coast and in the river valleys, the harsh environment makes much of its central area extinct.

But hidden in its soil are tiny little worms classified in the same group of creatures called arthropods and tardigrades, known for being very brave. They are called nematodes.

Nematodes can certainly adapt to extreme conditions, such as the deep sea, Antarctica and mines that are miles into the Earth.

Studies of netamode communities in the Atacama Desert have shown that they are more diverse than previously thought, with annual rainfall and seasonal temperature variations having a strong, consistent influence on predicting richness.

Studies of how these nematodes adapt to extreme conditions are helping to improve estimates of the effects of climate change, the researchers said.

Salt lakes

Highly saline environments, such as inland saltwater lakes and salt pans, kill many animals, causing severe and rapid dehydration.

However, brine shrimp (which you may know as sea monkeys) are some of the most tolerant animals on Earth, being able to tolerate water as high as 25% salt. This salt is 10 times higher than the sea. The ability of these small crustaceans to live in these unstable salt lakes means that they are able to avoid almost all predators. Now that’s tough shrimp!

The deep sea

At the bottom of the ocean’s abyss, thousands of meters under water, the pressure is 150 times higher than inside a car tire. Surely nothing can survive down there?

It happens that various species of fish, squid, jellyfish and many other animals live at this extreme depth; they are able to do so because of their physical characteristics that are highly adapted to high pressure.

For example, blobfish have many characteristics that are adapted to high stress conditions, such as a soft, scaly body, soft bones and very little muscle. In its aquatic environment, it looks like a normal fish. Bring it down – and it looks like a gelatinous pudding!

Most deep-sea fish do not have gas-filled swim bladders, which are difficult to inflate at great depths. Instead, their bodies are filled with jelly, which enhances their excitement while avoiding explosions.

The peaks of the Andes

Llullaillaco is a 6,739 meter high volcano in the Andes mountains, straddling the border between Chile and Argentina. Nothing grows on its summit, which is 2,000 meters above the surface of many types of green plants, yet biologists have seen a yellow-eared mouse living there, making it the largest living mammal – that we know of.

Otherwise known as Patagonian leaf-eared mice, these are very large mice, weighing up to 55g, and are best known for their large ears. Since there is no vegetation at this high altitude, scientists are at a loss to know what Llullaillaco rats eat.

The tops of the highest mountains in the world are not well studied by biologists, so the mouse record for the largest living mammal may be broken.

Antarctica of the Earth

Because of the extreme cold, life on the frozen rock of the Antarctic continent is very limited. There are no land mammals, reptiles or amphibians. However, there are other things that live there.

Nematodes are tiny earthworms found in the soil – and they are found in the coldest place on earth. Type Scottnema lindsayae it is abundant in the continent and common. It is one of three nematode species found in the McMurdo Dry Valleys: the world’s driest desert.

In soil, nematodes capture and store carbon.

The Antarctic springtail is a type of springtail (an arthropod) native to Antarctica and Australia. It survives cold temperatures by making antifreeze compounds, which lower the level of its body fluids.

Like other springtails, the Antarctic springtail is an important bioindicator of pollution. In 2020, researchers published a study showing that microplastics entered the Antarctic food chain via springtails.