Odd, Identical Species Found at Both Poles

[ALien]

Spinning a "mucus net" off its paddle-like foot-wings to trap algae and other foods, the swimming snail species Limacina helicinia is no bigger than a bean. But the discovery that it and at least 234 other species inhabit both Arctic and Antarctic waters is big news to biologists.

Finding so many species inhabiting both Poles "startled" scientists, according to a statement today from the Census of Marine Life, an international project to assess all marine life--past, present, and future--by 2010. Among the other dual-Pole species: whales, worms, and crustaceans.

Exactly where these species came from and how they ended up a world apart--with comparatively warm oceans in between--remains a mystery, the scientists said.

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[holeg2212]

Couldn't it be that these creatures that thrive in icy waters were once easily dispersed throughout the globe during the ICE AGE... but as the planet warmed they were left in both colder regions, now separated by warmer oceans?

[Tecnos]

Maybe these snails and other species hitch a ride in the gut of an Arctic Stern.

F*ckin big tern to carry a whale in its gut.

[Truthed]

Correct me if i am wrong but even though they are both icy waters, are these habitats not different in many ways? I think that may be why it is such a shock to see the duplicates... but then again i dont know much about it so feel free to tell me im an idiot

[kidflash2008]

There is a theory that millions of years ago, the Earth was covered in ice. This finding may help prove that theory.

[Truthed]

Originally Posted by kidflash2008

There is a theory that millions of years ago, the Earth was covered in ice. This finding may help prove that theory.

Good point, didnt even think about that

[kidflash2008]

That theory was on the History Channel in a 2 hour special on the history of our planet.