Hi all:

Scientists spy sixth undersea-vent ecology
Sid Perkins

A group of deep-sea hydrothermal vents recently discovered in the Indian
Ocean is populated by thriving communities of organisms, most of which have
never previously been seen.

The vent systems lie about 1,600 kilometers east of Madagascar, an area far
from the five previously known hydrothermal regions, which are in other
oceans. The Indian Ocean vents support ecosystems of crustaceans, mussels,
and anemones (top); large snails (bottom, images from videotape); and
sulfur-metabolizing bacteria.

The most common animal at the Indian Ocean vents, a shrimp species, is almost
indistinguishable from one known only from North Atlantic vents. The other
species of large organisms at the new sites appear to be closely related to
species found at vent fields in the western Pacific. At least 70 percent of
the species at these vents are new to scientists, says Cindy L. Van Dover, an
oceanographer at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. She and
her team report their observations in an upcoming issue of Science.

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[There is a picture of a crab perched on a mass of black globose shells with
eroded spires, but no other info]