While diving to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, researchers found a series of small holes at a depth of about 2.5 kilometers. They are located one behind the other and form a line up to several meters long.
This was reported by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Now it is not known exactly how these holes appeared. But small piles of sediment around indicate that they were excavated.
The scientists could not look inside the hole. It was also not possible to pierce them with tools on a remote-controlled device. It is also not known whether the holes are connected to each other.
This is not the first time that researchers have encountered these mysterious holes on the ocean floor. In July 2004, during an expedition along the northern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, scientists discovered several sets of these holes at a depth of about 2 kilometers. This is how they looked then:
The scientists note that these unusual openings point to gaps that exist in the basic understanding of mid-ocean ridge ecosystems. They suggest that the sediment may indicate that the holes were dug by unknown marine animals that live on the ocean floor.