Dive into the abyss, and you’ll find a world where five-armed, brainless creatures roam thousands of kilometers across the seafloor. A groundbreaking study published in Nature reveals the mind-blowing secrets of brittle stars, eerie deep-sea dwellers that have rewritten the rules of marine life, thanks to a massive DNA analysis led by the Victoria Research Institute.

Unlike the sunlit shallows, where temperature barriers keep species locked in place, the deep sea is a global highway for these spineless wonders. By sequencing DNA from thousands of brittle star specimens—collected from museum archives and research voyages worldwide—scientists uncovered how these creatures, with no eyes, heart, or brain, have spread from Iceland to Tasmania over millions of years.

Brittle stars, with their disc-like bodies and writhing arms, have thrived for 480 million years, feasting on sinking organic matter. Their secret weapon? Eggs and larvae that drift on sluggish deep-sea currents for over a year, riding seamounts and ridges like cosmic hitchhikers. This lets them colonize vast stretches of ocean, from the equator to the poles, creating a web of connectivity that rivals seabirds or whales.

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“We thought shallow seas were the hotspots of diversity, but the deep sea is a different beast,” says Tim O’Hara, lead researcher. “Brittle stars show us a world where species are more like global nomads than isolated locals.”

Yet, this isn’t a uniform underwater utopia. The deep sea is a harsh frontier, where shifting currents, food scarcity, or new predators can wipe out entire populations. This mix of long-distance travel and regional extinction paints a patchwork of life across the oceans, with hotspots like the southern Indian Ocean acting as superhighways for brittle stars moving from the Atlantic to Australia.

This discovery isn’t just a wild tale of weird creatures—it’s a wake-up call. Protecting these fragile deep-sea ecosystems demands understanding their global patterns. As brittle stars prove, even the strangest lifeforms can teach us how to safeguard our planet’s hidden depths.

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