Inhabitants of Atlantis
You have arrived in modern day Atlantis, an underwater city where people live as a part of nature. Everyone here is good-hearted, they are interested in science and the secrets of nature.
Those who have been to Atlantis say it is a warm and happy place from which we can all learn! Why couldn’t the world above water be as beautiful as the one beneath it?
Welcome to Atlantis, dear friend!
Meet the inhabitants of Atlantis
Water bear
Water bear (Tardigrade)
Water bears can be found everywhere – on mossy forest floors, near bodies of water even including hot springs, 4000 meters deep in the ocean and at the mountain tops of the Himalayas.
Tardigrades can survive as long as 100 years without water! In moss, only a few drops of water are enough for them to fill themselves with water and become active again.
- Water bears can survive temperatures between -273 °C and 150 °C.
- They tolerate a thousand times higher levels of radiation than humans.
- They are small astronauts, meaning they can survive in outer space without air for days.
Handfish
Handfish (Brachionichthyidae)
The handfish are named so because of their pectoral fins that resemble hands. Using the fins, the handfish move about 2-30 metres deep on the ocean floor. However, they are also able to swim using their tails. Every handfish has a different spotted pattern on its body.
Sea Angel
Sea Angel (Gymnosomata)
Sea angels are transparent shell-less sea slugs. Their wing-like appendages used for moving around give them an angelic appearance. When they hatch they do possess a shell, but they later lose it as they develop.
Ocean sunfish
Ocean sunfish (Mola mõla)
The scientific name of the sunfish, mola, is Latin for “millstone”. They are considered the heaviest bony fish in the world. The average weight of a grown sunfish is 1 tonne. They can grow to more than 3 m long and weigh 2000kg.
Blue whale
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
The blue whale is the largest mammal ever to have lived on Earth. They can grow up to 33 meters in length, weigh up to 150 tonnes and live up to 80 years.
Axolotl
Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)
Axolotls are unusual amphibians that reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis. An adult axolotl retains features common to larvae, including a caudal fin and three pairs of external gills. They remain aquatic and do not start breathing with lungs.
Giant squid
Giant squid (Architeuthis)
The giant squid is the world’s largest invertebrate. This deep-ocean dwelling cephalopod is also the basis for the Kraken legends. Giant squids can grow up to 18 m long. They have 10 tentacles lined with 2-5 cm suction cups. These suckers are surrounded by sharp rings of chitin for grasping prey better.
Nautilus
Nautilus (Nautilidae)
The name nautilus comes from the Greek word for “sailor”. Nautiluses are related to octopuses and squids, whose primary form has not changed for hundreds of millions of years. Plenty of their fossils can be found even in Estonian slate.
