‘Peculiar’ blob-like species discovered thriving in ‘toxic’ Romanian cave, study says

Inside of a highly toxic, oxygen-deprived cave, a strange new species has managed to flourish.

As they say in “Jurassic Park,” life finds a way.

The creature, which is a kind of ostracod — an ancient family of crustaceans — was discovered in the dark waters of an underground cave in Romania, according to a study published April 14 in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.

The subterranean cavity is a sulfidic ecosystem, an extreme environment characterized by large quantities of sulfide, methane, heavy metals and low quantities of oxygen. Deep sea thermal vents, which harbor some of the planet’s most “extraordinary extremophile organisms” that push the boundaries of known conditions life can survive in, are also considered sulfidic ecosystems.

Though exceedingly toxic to most organisms, some creatures have adapted in unique ways to survive in such conditions. In absence of energy from the surface, like sunlight, these creatures, known as chemoautotrophs, sustain themselves on chemical energy.

Researchers located 40 specimens of the new species in Romania’s Movile Cave, situated near the Black Sea, between 1990 and 2015, collecting and preserving them in ethanol for further study.

The specimens were then dissected, examined under microscopes and subjected to molecular analysis.

It was revealed the crustacean is entirely encased in a calcified, triangular shell, which likely serves as a form of protection, blocking out toxic elements in the water.

Inside the shell, researchers encountered a curved, shrimp-like organism with antennae and multiple limbs. It was given the name Pseudocandona movilaensis, which is derived from the cave it was found in.

The creature likely consumes bacteria, algae and fungi.

It also shares similar “regressive” features with other sulfidic cave dwellers, including “reduction or absence of eyes, loss of pigment, elongated body shape and appendages, modifications of sensory organs, and slow metabolism,” researchers wrote.

These organisms, due to their ability to thrive in such extreme conditions, could prove useful for modeling life in another extreme, yet far more remote, environment: Mars.

While it may sound far-fetched, a NASA scientist affiliated with a Mars Exploration Rover mission said in 2004 that chemoautotrophs in sulfate-rich environments are one of the most likely forms of life to be found on the red planet.

Romania’s Movile Cave is also home to a variety of other unique species, including water scorpions, beetles, leeches and worms, according to a study published 2021 in the journal Diversity.

This story was originally published April 14, 2023 at 10:45 AM with the headline "‘Peculiar’ blob-like species discovered thriving in ‘toxic’ Romanian cave, study says."