There are mysteries on the Earth that human beings are yet to unravel. Most of these are hidden in the deep confines of the oceans. A new footage unmasks one such deep-sea organism and by the look of it, no one would judge you if you consider it to be an alien species.
A long luminescent string-like object was recently recorded floating in the ocean off the coast of Australia. Since the video record was uploaded on the Internet, people have been finding it hard to fathom that the creature actually belongs to Earth.
And it is not difficult to guess why. The long string like structure seems to be one gigantic creature floating around. However, in reality, it is a giant siphonophore, a creature made up of multiple organisms.
Textbook definition of siphonophore indicates it to be ¡®an order of Hydrozoans¡¯ - a class of marine organisms belonging to the phylum Cnidaria, a group of animals that includes corals, hydroids and true jellyfish.
Thus the majestic string of tentacles filmed was a type of siphonophore, which is also called Apolemia or string jellyfish. Such organisms are made up of tiny individual creatures which are called zooids. These zooids can clone themselves thousands of times to perform different functions.
While some use stinging tentacles to attract food, others focus on moving as well as reproduction. Connected by a branch to pass on nutrients and nerve signals, the individual beings come together to work like various organs in one larger organism.
In the video, the giant siphonophore is assumed to have taken a feeding position as per experts. While official measurements have not been carried out yet, its outer ring is estimated to be 154 feet long.
The rare sight was captured by a team of international researchers on an expedition on the Ningaloo Canyons. The area is considered to be biologically rich but is still little-studied.
Shared by Schmidt Ocean, a marine research major, the video has since upload wowed the Twitterati more than anything lately. People exclaim in wonder as they discover the rare sight of the organism growing so big.