“It looks like a spiral UFO”: This is how Australian researchers describe the animal they discovered on Australia’s west coast. It is about twice as long as a blue whale or three times as long as a humpback whale. The researchers assume that the underwater animal could be the longest animal in the world so far, like that “Guardian” reported.
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Have you ever been on a diving tour in Australia?
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During the expedition led by the Schmidt Ocean Institute, scientists discovered a 46-meter specimen of a state jellyfish. State jellyfish are thread-like deep-sea predators and live in a network that consists of thousands of individuals and can spread like a single long string in the water. Each of these so-called zooids takes on a specific task – this is also why scientists consider the structure as a single, large organism.
State jellyfish are considered predators and feed like jellyfish by letting stinging tentacles dangle in the water. Small crustaceans and fish are part of their prey. When these swim in the curtain of tentacles, they are paralyzed and ultimately consumed by the organism.
«These waters were simply too unexplored»
The scientists also found up to 30 new animal species during the expeditions to the underwater gorges of the protected area in the bioregion of the Gascoyne coast. These included an octopus squid, a long-tailed sea cucumber, glass sponges and a first giant colony of animals, a so-called hydroid that looks like a wrong jellyfish. However, it would still be months or even years before the animals could be confirmed as new species.
“Because it’s a protected area, we actually have no idea what lives there,” says Nerida Wilson, senior scientist at the Western Australia Museum and head of the expedition, according to the Guardian. “We were definitely looking for new species and were expecting them,” says Wilson. «These waters were simply too unexplored. There are still many treasures to discover. »
Giant animal was a surprise
The discovery of the possibly longest animal in the world came surprisingly, as Wilson says. The research vehicle is submerged up to 4439 meters. The spiral-shaped siphonophore appeared only when the vehicle appeared at a depth of about 630 meters.
The crew was very excited. «It was simply incredible to see how this giant organism spread like a spiral UFO and hovered in the water column. We couldn’t believe what we saw, ”says Wilson.
