A Devil Beneath Your Feet

         The deepest living animal was found in the depths of a gold mine in South Africa, at the depth of 2.2 miles beneath the surface of the earth. Nematodes such as these were believed to not be capable of living beyond dozens of feet. Only microbes were believed to be capable of living at such depths and in such harsh conditions. This nematode is called Halicephalobus mephisto partly due to Mephistopheles, the demon of Faustian legend, and is only 0.5 mm long, though small it is much larger than the microbes that it feeds on.
        This discovery has made scientists aware of the possibilities of an entire other biosphere that exists beneath our feet. And to discover this nematode scientist had to borrow deep into the mines to find veins of water, retrieving a total of 8,343 gallons of water, before they discovered the first nematode in deep rock water samples. Scientists hope that this discovery of the nematode will inspire more research into, not only, what lies beneath the surface of this earth but also the possibilities of such organisms and life existing on other planets. In my opinion, the discovery of such an organism that has been capable of adapting to such an environment will open new doors to so much more research on deeper dwelling organisms and may allow scientists to discover more about the mysteries that lie beneath our surface.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v474/n7349/full/nature09974.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/06/110601-deepest-worm-earth-devil-science-animals-life/