Find the culprit that created the mysterious hole in the seabed between Russia and Alaska

When scientists discovered mysterious holes in the bottom of the Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska last summer, they were baffled. But now they think they have found the culprit.

The Guardian (UK) reported that scientists on the research vessel Sonne (Germany) participated in an expedition in the Bering Sea in 2022. They took many photos of the seabed. Some of the photos showed oval holes about 2-3cm wide .

Scientists have found the solution to the mysterious holes. (Photo: Guardian).

There are many animals living around where scientists discovered the mysterious holes and they have become the 'prime suspects'.

Julia Sigwart of the Natural History Museum and Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany, said the holes were too small for sea urchins and their shape did not resemble the burrows of sea worms.

And a member of the team of scientists, Ms. Angelika Brandt, also at the Natural History Museum and Senckenberg Research Institute, noticed something special, it was a crustacean.

Brandt used a video taken 40 years earlier by a colleague as evidence. It was of an amphipod in Antarctica. The video showed them burrowing. The Antarctic amphipod was very similar to the one Brandt had discovered in the Bering Sea.

Although Brandt and his colleagues have not yet seen Bering Sea amphipods digging holes, they believe they, like their Antarctic cousins, dig holes to breed. The larvae then live in the holes their parents dig for weeks or even months.

This discovery gives hope to scientists who expect to make progress in deciphering other mysteries at the bottom of the sea.