iStockphoto / S_Bachstroem
This is 100% not an alien, you guys. Definitely not. To insist that this is an alien would be outlandish. 2020 is already weird enough so let’s just get this alien shit out of our heads right now, cool?
This spiral-shaped freak of a creature measures 50-feet across and was filmed during an expedition to the Ningaloo Canyons off Australia’s west coast which is WILD to me that there are expeditions going on right now to impossible-to-reach places while most of the world are stuck in tiny ass apartments. Anyway, this creature is 2,000-feet below the surface of the ocean AND it’s FEEDING according to the scientists.
This creature is actually made up by a ton of different smaller creatures, according to Gizmodo:
The Schmidt Ocean Institute recently shared a video on Twitter of this impressive siphonophore, a compound organism in the Cnidaria phylum (a grouping that includes jellyfish and sea anemone). At 50 feet across, this spiral-shaped specimen could be the largest of its kind. Scientists observed it as part of an ongoing expedition to the Ningaloo Canyons off Australia’s west coast. (via)
Look at this feeding death spiral in action:
Check out this beautiful *giant* siphonophore Apolemia recorded on #NingalooCanyons expedition. It seems likely that this specimen is the largest ever recorded, and in strange UFO-like feeding posture. Thanks @Caseywdunn for info @wamuseum @GeoscienceAus @CurtinUni @Scripps_Ocean pic.twitter.com/QirkIWDu6S
— Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) April 6, 2020
Scientist Rebecca Helm went on a long Twitter thread explaining what exactly is going on here so buckle up:
Omg I have CHILLS. This is an ANIMAL. I'm guessing it's over a hundred feet long, forming a spiral in the middle of the deep sea. I've gone on numerous expeditions and have never, EVER, seen anything like this. Let me tell you what this is and why it is blowing my mind [a thread] https://t.co/6SoWmfxsJH
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
This animal is a kind of jelly, called a siphonophore. It's made of millions of interconnected clones, like if the Borg and the Clone Wars had a baby together. There are about a dozen different jobs a clone can do in the colony, & each clone is specialized to a particular task…
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
…most of the siphonophore colonies I've seen are maybe a 20cm long, maybe a meter. But THIS animal is massive. AND not just massive, the colony is exhibiting a stunning behavior: it's hunting….
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
Some of the clones specialize in catching prey. Their slender bodies hang with a single long tentacle dangling like a hook-studded fishing line. Like the frilled tentacles of another siphonophore pictured below…
(pic: @SchmidtOcean https://t.co/UIJt6aLSNn) pic.twitter.com/7nDOKFqSUZ— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
A siphonophore colony in a line creates a curtain of deadly tentacles in the open ocean, but in THIS case, the animal is hunting in a galaxy-like spiral, the long wisp-like tentacles draped below. And the colony does not need to move to feed…
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
…once a clone captures its prey (a fish or crustacean) it will reel it to the colony & other clones that work as mouths will surround it. Often many swallowing it at once. Here is a video I took of another siphonophore, a man-o-war, eating prey. Once they prey is digested… pic.twitter.com/IIdS2w9263
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
…they'll send the nutrients through a long digestive tract that travels down the whole colony, so that every other clone can use the nutrients. In this way, this siphonophore may remain still and feed for a long time, and I mean LONG…
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
…There is no good way to age siphonophores, but everything in the deep sea grows incredibly slowly. It's only a few degrees above freezing, life takes time to grow. This animal could be tens, possibly HUNDREDS of years old. And most of the time…
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
…when a remotely operated vehicle sees one, the siphonophore quickly gets tossed in the swirling water around the machine (like the one below by @SchmidtOcean). I've seen long strands of siphonophores, *occasionally* a small spiral, but THIS!? This… pic.twitter.com/LqVQqKHXSx
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
Is one of the largest and most stunning and pristine siphonophores that I've ever seen. And to think…
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
There are millions, probably billions of underwater siphonophore galaxies out there just like this one. Siphonophores are not rare, just fragile and remote. As we explore the ocean's more, who knows what other creatures we will see. [End of Thread]
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
P.S. Totally unplanned, but one of the only animals I know to prey on siphonophores is a cousin of the fish-shaped sea slug that I just happened to tweet about earlier today. It's like weird on weird down there! https://t.co/0s4Jmmb6yH
— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
The sea slugs, called Cephalopyge, grab onto siphonophore clones using their tiny snail food and slowly eat them while hanging off the colony like an ornament!
Pic by: https://t.co/DsQTmkL09e pic.twitter.com/4hjMLR96hV— High Seas Science (@RebeccaRHelm) April 6, 2020
Am I crazy or is it just refreshing as hell to read about something that isn’t all apocalyptic? Sure, we might be talking about a possibly-alien death spiral here feeding en masse at the bottom of the ocean.