New Deep‑Subsurface Species Found in South Africa and Great Lakes

Scientists have reported two separate discoveries of life thriving far below the Earth's surface. In South Africa's Beatrix gold mine, researchers identified a microscopic nematode, Halicephalobus mephisto – nicknamed the “devil worm” – living more than 1.3 km underground. The organism survives extreme pressure and temperature, reproduces via parthenogenesis, and was cultured after being isolated from mine water.

An international team also explored water from deep boreholes (198‑500 m) in the Antrim Shale beneath the Great Lakes region of North America. Their analysis revealed a hidden ecosystem containing 689 fungal species, including 13 previously unknown to science, as well as tardigrades and other microbes. “This discovery opens a window to a dark, ancient, and almost completely hidden world,” said lead author Quinn Moon of the University of Michigan.