Scientists found an unusual line of holes at over 8,000 feet beneath the ocean. Researchers have been stumped by the little pits.
Scientists are stumped by the origin of the holes.
The holes look like they could be from humans. A scientist isn't quite sure. Mike Vecchione, a zoologist at the National Museum of Natural History, said he didn't think they were made by humans.
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Vecchione has two different ideas about what happened.
An animal could burrow through the sea floor and sometimes push up holes to get fresh oxygenated water.
A creature swam just above the surface of the sea and poked something down into the sand. When you go to the beach, shorebirds feed on sand. Birds are poking their bills down into the sand at the edge of the surf.
"I've seen a lot of really wild speculation over the past few days."
Scientists have encountered similar holes before. During a dive to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in 2004, Vecchione and Bergstad saw a similar set of holes. Deep sea exploration is expensive and requires a lot of personnel.
Environmental DNA, which is genetic material left in the environment, can be detected by collecting water samples from the holes. What kind of animals are in the area? Researchers haven't analyzed the water sample.
Vecchione has seen a lot of wild animals in the deep sea. He knows that the ocean has a lot of marine mystique. He's seen the internet propose some far-out alien ideas.
Over the last few days, I have seen a lot of really wild speculation.
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