The chance discovery of a deep-sea "graveyard" is helping scientists to shed light on the fate of dead ocean giants, scientists report.
Footage recorded by the oil and gas industry shows the carcasses of four large marine creatures in a small patch of sea floor off the coast of Angola.
Around the dead whale shark and three deceased rays, scavengers flocked to the food bonanza.
The findings are published in the journal Plos One.
Lead author Dr Nick Higgs, from the University of Plymouth's Marine Institute, said: "There's been lots of research on whale-falls, but we've never really found any of these other large marine animals on the sea bed."
Whale carcasses are home to complex ecosystems, first attracting scavengers such as sharks, then smaller opportunists such as crabs and shrimp-like creatures called amphipods. Osedax - or "zombie worms" - feed on the animal's bones, while specialist bacteria break down fats.
But with this latest footage, scientists have been able to see how the feeding frenzy that takes place around other big animal carcasses compares.
video/more
BBC News - Deep-sea 'graveyard' reveals fate of dead ocean giants
Footage recorded by the oil and gas industry shows the carcasses of four large marine creatures in a small patch of sea floor off the coast of Angola.
Around the dead whale shark and three deceased rays, scavengers flocked to the food bonanza.
The findings are published in the journal Plos One.
Lead author Dr Nick Higgs, from the University of Plymouth's Marine Institute, said: "There's been lots of research on whale-falls, but we've never really found any of these other large marine animals on the sea bed."
Whale carcasses are home to complex ecosystems, first attracting scavengers such as sharks, then smaller opportunists such as crabs and shrimp-like creatures called amphipods. Osedax - or "zombie worms" - feed on the animal's bones, while specialist bacteria break down fats.
But with this latest footage, scientists have been able to see how the feeding frenzy that takes place around other big animal carcasses compares.
video/more
BBC News - Deep-sea 'graveyard' reveals fate of dead ocean giants
