A Look at the Aquatic Aliens Around the Great Barrier Reef

We’d like to welcome back everyone to another episode of: Did life really make that a thing? And spotlighted this time around, we have an odd assortment of sea creatures from the northern depths of the Great Barrier Reef. All of the creatures, of course, look like aliens, even more so than usual thanks to the shocking detail of the 4K video.

The Schmidt Ocean Institute posted the video of the Great Barrier Reef ocean-dwellers. For those unfamiliar, Schmidt Ocean—founded by former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, and his wife, Wendy Schmidt—is a nonprofit that aims to advance oceanographic research. In part by showing the world all of the endlessly strange creatures in the deep sea; such as this gigantic, stringy siphonophore.

A team of Australian scientists using Schmidt Ocean’s research vessel, Falkor, found this most current assortment of animals. Prior to recording these wiggly, blooming, occasionally bioluminescent animals, the team had already made a major discovery on the same expedition. In a nearby location, the team also found a gigantic chunk of coral reef taller than the Empire State Building.

Schmidt Ocean

Unfortunately, it seems the scientists haven’t outlined which various species we see in the video. Generically speaking, there’s a large handful of squid, shrimp, and fish, with an octopus taking the top spot for most breathtaking. (Mainly ’cause of how squishy and weird its head is.)

Along with those squish-tastic, submarine lifeforms, the crew also spotted a ram’s horn squid on this expedition. The crew believes this is the first time a ram’s horn, a.k.a. spirula, has been observed in its natural environment. In the below Schmidt tweet, you can check out a longer look at the ram’s horn as it floats aimlessly. Aimlessly through a bunch of organisms, many of which have yet to even be discovered.

Feature image: Schmidt Ocean