In the summer of 2019, a diver discovered what he describes as a “dolphin-like jellyfish” in the Mediterranean Sea. Now, footage of the strange, translucent, glassy blob of a creature is going viral. And while it remains a UFO—that is, an unidentified floating object—its bizarre physiology is still on detailed display in this short clip.
Digg found the above clip of the mysterious jelly, which ViralHog recently posted to YouTube. ViralHog quotes the unnamed diver responsible for the video as saying that the creature looked like a “dolphin-like-jellyfish,” and was soft to the touch. “[O]ne could also admire its internal organs and spine,” the diver added.
Indeed, the translucent thing the diver plays with in the video does have what appears to be a spine. Which would mean classifying it as a jellyfish—an invertebrate animal without a spine—wouldn’t make much sense. Although it certainly does, on the whole, look like other types of globular jellies that plumb the depths.
ViralHog
Speaking of plumbing the depths, we went deep into a search for an answer as to what this creature could be. And, as of this writing—with zero input from anybody who would know—we’re guessing it’s some kind of sea salp? Which is, for those wondering, a barrel-shaped “tunicate” that has a clear, gelatinous body. Not only does the sea salp (below) fit the part, but while it’s technically an invertebrate, it still has nerve cords and something akin to a flexible backbone; which someone could easily mistake for a spine.
Again, however, that species identification is a complete shot in the dark, and we may be way off. But when it comes to encountering extremely weird, alien-like creatures in the ocean, it’s just as much fun to not know what you’re looking at as it is to know. Unless, that is, you encounter something truly otherworldly like this.
Feature image: ViralHog
