Things here on terra firma may be a bit absurd right now—thanks to an ever-lengthening list of unbelievable current eventsOpens in a new tab—but it seems that everything going on in the deep sea is the same as it ever was: Meaning it’s still basically a stand-in for a freaky underwater-forest planet rife with bizarre alien-like entitiesOpens in a new tab. Like the gigantic siphonophore in the below video, which is made up of a massive colony of individual organisms, is likely hundreds of feet long, and could be hundreds of years old.
Check out this beautiful *giant* siphonophore Apolemia recorded on #NingalooCanyonsOpens in a new tab expedition. It seems likely that this specimen is the largest ever recorded, and in strange UFO-like feeding posture. Thanks @CaseywdunnOpens in a new tab for info @wamuseumOpens in a new tab @GeoscienceAusOpens in a new tab @CurtinUniOpens in a new tab @Scripps_OceanOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/QirkIWDu6SOpens in a new tab
— Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) April 6, 2020Opens in a new tab
GizmodoOpens in a new tab picked up on the viral video, which was recently posted to Twitter by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, a nonprofit that’s been established to advance oceanographic researchOpens in a new tab. (If the name sounds familiar, that may be because its founders are former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, and his wife, Wendy Schmidt.) The video was recorded somewhere near the Ningaloo canyons, which is off the western coast of Australia.
A close-up look at another siphonophore, which was observed by the NOAA. NOAAOpens in a new tab
According to Schmidt Ocean, the creature in the clip belongs to the species, siphonophore Apolemia, which is a member of the order, SiphonophoraeOpens in a new tab. The 175 species of siphonophores that make up Siphonophorae are each, in actuality, made up of an enormous colony of “zooids,” which themselves are individual animals. These zooids, or “drones,” as they’re sometimes called, work together as a massive team to keep any given siphonophore alive and moving. And while all of a siphonophore’s zooids share identical DNAOpens in a new tab, they still mutate to perform very different functions. For example, in the below tweet from Assistant Professor at University of North Carolina Asheville Rebecca R HelmOpens in a new tab, we see an unrelated siphonophore’s zooids working together to digest prey.
Helm, who assembled an entire, in-depth Twitter threadOpens in a new tab outlining why this particular siphonophore is so extraordinary, says she’s never seen one anywhere near this long before. For reference, Helm says that most of the siphonophore colonies she’s seen have ranged in length from 20 centimeters to, maybe, a meter (about 3.3 feet). The one in the video from Schmidt Ocean is roughly 154 feet long—and that’s only the length of its most-outer ring of body.
Most frequent question so far: "How big is it?" we don't have exact size, but the #ROVOpens in a new tab pilot used #SuBastianOpens in a new tab and its lasers to estimate the size: this siphonophore’s outer ring measured in at 15m (49ft) diameter, so just that ring *alone* seems to be approximately 47m (154ft)!
— Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) April 6, 2020Opens in a new tab
Moving forward, it seems that Schmidt Ocean’s expedition aimed at exploring the Ningaloo canyons will continue, despite any complications arising from the worldwide pandemicOpens in a new tab. In fact, Schmidt Ocean has already delivered more footage of other otherworldly creatures it’s discovered, and yes, they look likeOpens in a new tab they could easily pass as aliens too.
What do you think about this unbelievably long marine creature? Are you fascinated by the fact that it’s made up of tons of little drones all working together to keep it alive, or does that little biological quirk just give you the willies? Assemble a colony of your opinions in the comments, people!
Feature image: Schmidt Ocean InstituteOpens in a new tab
