Giant string like creature hunting for food in the Indian ocaean

I had no idea these things could get so long ! Many of us with just a passing interest in ocean creatures know how some forms/creatures combine to make a bigger better creature either for survival or to procure food. Evidently this Siphonophore is one of the largest ever logged.

www.smithsonianmag.com...

Researchers shared a video of this massive siphonophore, one of the longest of its kind ever recorded

“Everyone was blown away when it came into view,” biologists Nerida Wilson and Lisa Kirkendale from the Western Australian Museum told Science Alert about discovering the giant siphonophore. “There was a lot of excitement. People came pouring into the control room from all over the ship. Siphonophores are commonly seen but this one was both large and unusual-looking.”

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), siphonophores are invertebrates closely related to jellyfish that live in the deep sea. As marine biologist Stefan Siebert tells Wired’s Matt Simon, siphonophores are actually large colonies of bodies, similar to corals. Individual bodies clone themselves thousands of times into different kinds of specialized units, strung together in 100-foot-long chains.

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

t.co...

a reply to: 727Sky

Its a beautiful creature. Deserves respect. Wonder what the cost will be on the Wuhan market now it is known.

Shark fin market may take a dip.

Kind regards,

Bally

That's awesome looking and the filming is exceptional. It appears so fragile but obviously not. Thanks.

Anybody else want to just swim through it?

a reply to: 727Sky

Mmm looks tasty, I see it swirled in a bowl like pasta, with a nice squid ink, and sea cucumber sauce.

how bizzarre! living spaghetti.

originally posted by: StoutBroux
That's awesome looking and the filming is exceptional. It appears so fragile but obviously not. Thanks.

We should kill it. It might make us sick with a new disease.

a reply to: 727Sky

I had no idea these things could get so long !

That's what she said.

Great post.

My friend was one of the scientists (Dr of Biology) on this recent 6 week Ningaloo Canyon trip. He truly has the most interesting job in the world.

a reply to: swinggal

We really don’t know that much about the deep and isolated oceans and what lived in them

So bizarre and beautiful in a weird (cock your head to the left and squint) kind of way.

I wonder how many stinging tentacles it has?


Johnny