Halicephalobus mephisto, a new species of roundworm has been found deep in the earth, a mile below the Earth’s surface. This discovery has opened up new possibilities of existence of life in those places where earlier it was thought that only bacteria and other like organisms could exist. Researchers, led by Gaetan Borgonie of Belgium’s Ghent University said that these results reveal that the deep ecosystems are in reality more complex than what one expects them to be. Accepted knowledge has a long way to go, especially when it comes to deep ecosystems, where there is much possibility of exploration.

Borgoine has been studying roundworms for the past 20 years. He believes that they have a capacity to withstand stress and he has a “healthy respect” for that capacity of theirs. It is a fact that various members of the Phylum Annelid can live almost without oxygen, in extremely acidic environments, and despite prolonged starvation.

Thus, Borgonie decided to continue with the research that he had his heart in, without listening to detractors who insisted that there was nothing left for further exploration in that field.