
A scientific expedition exploring the submarine canyons near Australia's Ningaloo has found an estimated 150-foot, or about as tall as an 11-story building 'Siphonophore' which is likely to be the world’s longest animal ever recorded.
Siphonophores are marine organisms which are essentially gelatinous strings that can grow to 100 feet long. Siphonophore is essentially a floating colony of tiny individual zooids ( an animal arising from another by budding or division) that clone themselves thousands of times into specialized bodies that string together to work as a team.
The giant organism was found by the flagship Remotely Operated Vehicle (RoV) robot of Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI), a non-profit private foundation focused on oceanography, which is interestingly founded in March 2009 by Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt. Eric Schmidt was the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, executive chairman of Google from 2011 to 2015, and executive chairman of Google's parent firm, Alphabet Inc, from 2015 to 2017.
The institute has shared a breathtaking video clip on Twitter which shows the Apolemia that is basically a type of Siphonophore.
Additionally, up to 30 new underwater species were made by researchers from the Western Australian Museum aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor.
The giant organism was found by the flagship Remotely Operated Vehicle (RoV) robot of Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI), a non-profit private foundation focused on oceanography, which is interestingly founded in March 2009 by Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt. Eric Schmidt was the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, executive chairman of Google from 2011 to 2015, and executive chairman of Google's parent firm, Alphabet Inc, from 2015 to 2017.
The institute has shared a breathtaking video clip on Twitter which shows the Apolemia that is basically a type of Siphonophore.
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 pic.twitter.com/QirkIWDu6S
— Schmidt Ocean (@SchmidtOcean) April 6, 2020
Using the underwater robot (RoV), SuBastian, SOI's scientists for the first time are able to explore deep sea canyons and coral reefs around Australia that have never been seen before. The footage and samples collected from the oceans that surround Australia will have important implications for the sustainability and protection of these underwater ecosystems—and for similar habitats worldwide that are in peril because of rising ocean temperatures and other environmental threats.View this post on Instagram
Additionally, up to 30 new underwater species were made by researchers from the Western Australian Museum aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor.