Posted on 07/18/2022 9:42:44 AM PDT by Red Badger
Tendril-ly, Cthulhu-looking beigeish-pinkish sea creature extends its tentacles in a clump against the dark ocean.
This sea pen was an unexpected find in the Pacific Ocean by the crew of the E/V Nautilus.
E/V Nautilus; video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET
I'll admit, I'd never heard of a Solumbellula sea pen until today, when I saw a tweet from the Exploration Vessel Nautilus showing an intriguing tentacle-y creature with a long thin stalk reaching down to the ocean floor. I was immediately enchanted. The Nautilus team called it "a thrilling discovery."
The sea pen made its appearance during a visit by a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to an unexplored seamount near Johnston Atoll, a remote spot to the west of Hawaii in the Pacific. It was unexpected. This is the first time this animal has been spotted in the Pacific. It's normally found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The Nautilus came across two examples during the dive.
A video shot at a depth of 9,823 feet (2,994 meters) shows the moment of discovery, along with commentary from excited researchers. "That looks wicked," says one of them after the ROV got a close-up shot of the creature's food-capturing tentacles. For scale, the sea pen's stalk is 6.6 feet (2 meters) long.
VIDEO AT LINK..................
Sea pens are filed under cnidarians, a broad group of aquatic animals that includes corals and jellyfish. "Further review of the footage and this sample will help experts determine if this is the first Pacific S.monocephalus or potentially a new species in this ocean basin," the Nautilus team said on YouTube.
The research expedition at Johnston Atoll ran from June 20 to July 13 and was focused on studying the biodiversity of the area. The nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust operates the ship and streams many of its ROV dives.
E/V Nautilus has lifted the veil on many wonders of the deep, from a rare jellyfish to a delightful "unidentified gelatinous creature." Said the team, "This huge range expansion of Solumbellula in the Pacific Ocean reminds us how important ocean exploration efforts are to understanding this diversity of our planet."
So, new “variant” of an already named species. I was hoping for something more interesting.
Sea Pens (soft corals) are interesting. We have fossils of sea pens from the Burgess Shale (Cambrian explosion — 500 million years ago). They have no known ancestor in the fossil record. And the modern sea pens look pretty much like the fossils. They just came into existence in one fell swoop and then seem to have never changed.
This species may be new to us, but I doubt it’s new.
Sea monster sighted!
Paging Captain Nemo...
Irwin Allen knew all about this one. A real Seaview swallower!
Juvenile Cthulhu.
GENESIS 1
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”
21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
That is not a CREATURE, it is a flippin’ plant.
Looks like what some of the hypothesized pre-Cambrian explosion type creatures would look like.
Yup.
I wonder what it tastes like.
Excuse me for asking, but where are the genitals?
Or does something like this clone itself as a snail would do?
Chicken
Scientists are wondering if it might be a new species.
= = =
Wondering?
Reminds me of the creature in Deep Rising(1998).
Someone Released the Kraken!
Previously discovered species of Cthulhu.
...(Insert the “I’m not saying it’s Aliens... Pic here!)
Baby Kraken?
Agghhk! Eye bleach, now!
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