Abstract
Among the deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites discovered in thepast 30 years, Lost City on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) isremarkable both for its alkaline fluids derived from mantle rockserpentinization and the spectacular seafloor carbonate chimneysprecipitated from these fluids. Despite high concentrations ofreduced chemicals in the fluids, this unique example of a serpentinite-hosted hydrothermal system currently lacks chemosyntheticassemblages dominated by large animals typical of high-temperaturevent sites. Here we report abundant specimens of chemosymbioticmussels, associated with gastropods and chemosymbioticclams, in approximately 100 kyr old Lost City-like carbonates fromthe MAR close to the Rainbow site (36 °N). Our finding shows thatserpentinization-related fluids, unaffected by high-temperaturehydrothermal circulation, can occur on-axis and are able to sustainhigh-biomass communities. The widespread occurrence of seafloorultramafic rocks linked to likely long-range dispersion of ventspecies therefore offers considerably more ecospace for chemosyntheticfauna in the oceans than previously supposed