Scientists now believe that much of the life on Earth is barely able to fog a mirror, as it were. The deep-sea microbes may be an extreme example of a laid-back norm. Most of Earth life, measured by numbers, is not rambunctious and charismatic like life in the sunshine, nor is it akin to the microbes that grow quickly in a laboratory petri dish.

Rather, it’s kind of boring — living out of sight, below the surface, in total darkness, using energy slowly and efficiently. —Ancient life, millions of years old and barely alive, found beneath ocean floor – The Washington Post.