But Most Of Its Life Is Microbial
While the wildlife in Antarctica is spectacular, large animals only occupy a tiny portion of the continent – mostly along its coastline. Its smaller lifeforms include phytoplankton, mites, nematodes, lice, tardigrades, springtails, krill, and rotifers.
However, most of the life that lives in Antarctica is microbial. Algae are abundant, including microscopic diatoms. Some bacteria, in particular, favor the frigid conditions, as they have been found living as deep as 2600 feet underneath the ice. Microbial life is incredibly resilient and can thrive in some of the harshest conditions on the planet, where scientists least expect to find any living thing.