Since 1984, scientists have discovered new submarine animal communities living on certain continental shelves. These animals have many similarities to those found in the chimneys of hydrothermal springs. Here again we find a multiplication of new species of shellfish and tubular worms, in clumps, in tiny areas at the bottom of the oceans.
This time, the life forms discovered draw their energy from methane which is discharged in certain places on the sea floor on the edge of continental shelves. These emissions are known to scientists as cold hydrocarbons seeps or cold springs.
As is the case for hydrothermal sources, chemosynthetic bacteria are at the base of the ecosystems found around the cold seeps and, in the same way, certain of these bacteria live in symbiosis with mussels and tubular worms which thrive in these surroundings.
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