The discovery clashes with the widely accepted view that tiny creatures from nearby vents replace adult species wiped out in a hydrothermal eruption.

One such "pioneer species," Ctenopelta porifera, appears to have traveled more than 300 kilometers to settle at the site on the underwater mountain range known as the East Pacific Rise."Ctenopelta had never been observed before at the study site, and the nearest known population is 350 km to the north," said Lauren Mullineaux, a senior scientist in WHOI's biology department.

In this case, however, the larvae that re-settled the post-eruption vent area are noticeably different from destroyed species and appeared to have traveled great distances to reach their destination. “That raises the question of how they can possibly disperse so far," said Mullineaux.

The discovery of hydrothermal vents on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean in 1977 revolutionized ideas about where and how life could exist. Spewing scalding mineral-rich fluids and teeming with life, the vents have posed variety of tantalizing questions. How can so much life thrive at the sunless seafloor? What is the nature of organisms at hydrothermal vents? How do animals migrate to other vent sites? It was this last question that motivated Mullineaux and her team as they began their study of a vent area on the East Pacific Rise.

More in the upcoming issue of X-Ray Magazine

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