Antarctica — home to ice, penguins, and...what else is there? It's hard to picture a creature that could not only live, but actually thrive, in such a harsh and inhospitable environment. Yet many other animals can be found in the seas and on the icy grounds besides that infamous black and white bird. Fish, seals, and krill are just a few that have made Antarctica their home, enduring winds that can reach up to 320 km/hour and surviving the continent that contains the largest desert in the world.
Naked-Head Toothfish and Rakery Beaconlamp–despite Antarctica's stark white scenery, its inhabitants do possess colorful names. These are among Antarctica's 200 species of fish, and were first caught during an 1840 James Clark Ross expedition. One hundred and twenty of these species are descendents of Notothenioids, which contain glycoproteins in their blood that work as "anti-freeze" proteins. These proteins appeared in fish because of a genetic mutation that occurred 5-14 million years ago; since the waters were warmer back then, the proteins were not needed. However, when continental plates shifted, what is now Antarctica broke off from South America, and produced such a strong current that warmer waters could not get through. Therefore, the Antarctic seas became increasingly colder over time. The fish without the genetic mutation died out; today, each remaining Notothenioid carries the glycoproteins. The proteins attach themselves to small ice crystals in the fish's body, enabling the fish to live in waters with temperatures as low as 28 degrees F.
Tired of fish and want to see a seal? Go to Antarctica, where 60% of Earth's entire seal population eats, sleeps, and swims. Only two families, the true and the eared, make up Antarctica's seal population. Seals are an important part of the local history; it was because of them that people saw a lot of the continent's land. Hunters searched everywhere for seals, as their fur was all the rage for women's coats in the 1800's. They became rare until whaling took some of the pressure off of seal hunting, and an international law designed to protect the species, called the "Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals," brought seal populations back to relatively high levels.
Fur seals are the only kind of eared seals (seals with detectable ear flaps) living in Antarctica. A seven-foot, 250-pound animal, this seal has reached a population of four million who love the coastal beaches of the Southern polar islands, as well as the food supply of krill, squid, and fish found offshore. They dive about 100 m to retrieve their dinner, and can remain underwater for five minutes at a time. Fur seals are one of the most agile of their kind when walking on land; their fore-flippers can support most of their weight. The males weigh up to 450 pounds, almost twice as much as their female counterparts, and they have a silvery-gray coating. Females are all gray except for their chests, which are an off-white hue. Only one in 800 fur seals are completely "blonde." Seals are beautiful creatures with a cantankerous attitude. They find any "visitors" invasive and will not hesitate to instigate a fight, particularly during mating season. Very territorial, male fur seals compete for the best location to attract the best mate.
Other sea creatures include animals as big as whales and as small as krill. Antarctic krill, though only 6 cm in size, are crucial in the Antarctic food chain. They clean up the sea by feeding in groups of thousands on phytoplankton, algae and diatoms. They are then eaten by many others–a favorite meal among whales (a baleen whale can eat tons per day), seals and birds. The Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources regulates the amount of krill captured by fishermen. What krill the fishermen do catch are taken from their shell immediately; after three hours out of water, the krill will no longer be edible due to fluoride leaching contamination. They are then sold in many different varieties, all of which have an appearance similar to that of a pink sponge.