​In 1909, in a subterranean pool at the North end of the Sea of Galilee, a community of rare and unique blind prawns (Typhlocaris galilea) was discovered.  More than 50 years later, in order to locate this interesting critter, Israeli scientists Tsurnamal  and  Por penetrated this underground pool by scuba diving and discovered a thriving community of sulfur bacteria, worms and aquatic snails that have never been exposed to sunlight and do not depend on its energy for their survival. Six years ago, as a part of the ongoing effort to preserve this unique environment and its inhabitants, an underwater robot was sent to the pool in order to collect samples of its various inhabitants, in order to create breeding nucleus. A number of blind prawns were taken from the cave and were brought to the biblical zoo at Jerusalem, to create a preservation “bank” for these rare crustaceans.

Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research (IOLR) - Prof. Bella Galili