A strange, glowing animal shaped like a tadpole has emerged from the deep waters off California, where Monterey Bay researchers were looking for clues about how gelatinous creatures divide up the ocean’s darkest neighborhoods.
The newly documented Erenna siphonophore was found roughly 6,500 feet below the surface during an expedition that reached depths of more than 12,000 feet, according to KCRA's report. The animal has a rounded head, eye-like dots and a long, wiggly tail—an appearance that gives the deep-sea drifter an oddly amphibian look.
Researchers Initially Thought The Creature Was Already Known
The research team initially identified the animal as a known type of Erenna siphonophore, but closer examination revealed differences that may place it in a separate species. The expedition collected dozens of gelatinous specimens and is still completing its documentation before releasing photographs, MBARI said.
Erenna siphonophores are long, translucent animals with dangling tentacles that glow at their ends. Those bioluminescent lures can draw curious fish close enough for the siphonophore’s stinging tentacles to capture them, and the newly observed species may be adapted to target a different kind of fish than its better-known relatives, according to KCRA's coverage.
It Looks Like A Jellyfish But Works More Like A Colony
The animal is jellyfish-related, but calling it a jellyfish would flatten some important biology. Smithsonian Ocean explains that siphonophores are colonies made up of genetically identical zooids, with different parts specialized for movement, feeding, defense and reproduction.
That division of labor is useful in the midnight zone, where food is scarce and different siphonophore species can occupy highly specialized ecological niches. Many deep-sea creatures also migrate into shallower water after dark to feed, while MBARI’s team used a remotely operated vehicle, an ultra-low-light camera and nightly trawls to compare life in colder Monterey waters with warmer waters farther south, the institute reported.
California’s Deep Ocean Still Has Plenty Of Secrets
The expedition also turned up jellyfish, glowing sea cucumbers, several undescribed comb jellies and a siphonophore previously seen only in the Gulf of California. For lead scientist Steven Haddock, the findings underscore how much work remains before scientists can fully catalog the gelatinous animals drifting beneath the California coast.
For now, the tadpole-like siphonophore does not have a formal name for the public to remember—just a glowing set of tentacles, a peculiar body plan and a spot in the growing inventory of life found in California’s deep ocean.
