Underwater video has recorded an impressive but mysterious sea monster!
Do you know what it is?
Drilling in the deep ocean can sometimes be surprising! Watch this mysterious creature caught by an oil-rig cam. Look at the wide and beautiful bell of this weird animal: It ressembles a translucent, folding sheet as it moves. Majestuous!
But what is this mysterious sea monster?
A jellyfish? A giant sea slug? A whale placenta? After some research, I think that this weird animal is a jellyfish called Deepstaria enigmatica. As its name implies, little is known about this jelly since it usually lives in Antarctica and near-Antarctica seas at depths of 829 to 1830 meters.
Deepstaria enigmatica lacks tentacles and prominent arms. They engulf their preys into their huge, broad bells. In other words these strange jellies are swimming stomachs, lined with a webbing of vein-like channels to evenly distribute digested nutrients.
Are there still unknown sea monsters around the world?
You can see Deepstaria in action in this gorgeous footage from MBARI:
Interestingly, every specimen ever observed has been inhabited by a single isopod crustacean. Is it a parasite or are they living in symbiosis?
[…] This odd 12-metre, 13-tonne “Chilean blob” shocked the world when it washed ashore on Los Muermos beach in 2003. It also puzzled marine biologists which first speculated the blob was a type of giant squid. However DNA tests eventually determined it was the remains of a sperm whale. I would say it is pretty much similar to what we see in this video. […]
[…] Look at this video of another giant squid caught by an oil rig camera. […]
Corexit mutation creature.