10.02.2013 - Giant isopod and hedgehog-like amphipod

10.02.2013 (Sunday). Still at Erebus and Terror Bay. I go late out of my bed in order to recover from the previous night and to prepare for the forthcoming one. In the morning no more dream view to a distant horizon: we are again into the fog. However this fog is not very thick and the day looks very bright. We do an Agassiz trawl and a Rauschert dredge in the afternoon. Catch of medium importance. We catch a huge Glyptonotus group antarcticus, a real monster of isopod. We caught two specimens of Echiniphimedia hodgsoni. These amphipods, which looks like hedgehogs, live and feed on sponges. 

 Glyptonotus sp. (120 mm) is a giant amongst isopods.

Echiniphimedia hodgsoni (30 mm) is an amphipod looking like an hedgehog.

We are informed that we will have to do another Rauschert dredge on 11.02.2013 ...at 02:30 in the morning. And it will be followed by an Agassiz trawl. So an awful night to come. We finish the sorting of the samples of today as soon as possible, so we can sleep a little bit. I am in my bed around 21:40.

(Cédric)

There will be 3 sampling sites at Erebus and Terror Bay. The first one is today in the afternoon, the other ones will follow quite quickly. Today’s catch wasn’t so big, so we can sleep early tonight, in order to be ready for the next dredge which is planned at 2:30 am! An Agassiz will follow at 6 am, so it’s a long night in perspective. 

(Marie)

A giant ten-legged Antarctic pycnogonid (sea spider). Picture by
Cédric