It ’s a popular adage that humanity know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about the bottom of the ocean , so it ’s perhaps unsurprising that every now and then thebathyal zonespits up a surprisal . New enquiry published in the journalPlankton and Benthos Researchdescribes the moment a team of ocean scientists from theNational Oceanic Atmospheric Administration(NOAA ) came across a bizarre new metal money off the seashore of Puerto Rico . The alien - like creatures were discover to be a young species of comb jelly , a group of animals that despite their similarity are not nearly colligate to jellyfish . Also have a go at it as ctenophores ( with a silent ' c'),comb jelliesmove by pump eight wrangle of cockscomb - comparable cilia that refract light causing a colored display as they baffle through the water . They are carnivorous brute that feed on small arthropods and larvae .
The new specie discovered by the NOAA Fisheries research squad has been namedDuobrachium sparksae , and was found via the Deep Discoverer , a remotely operated vehicle ( ROV ) . Using the high - definition footage captured by the ROV , scientists safely on dry land were able-bodied to visit the new creature , and its identification as a refreshing specie marks the first time NOAA scientists have describe and annotated a new species using just ROV footage . you could see the here and now they realized they were looking at something unknown to science in the video recording below ( from 1:28 onwards ) .
The eminent - resolution images capture by the Deep Discoverer are able to measure anatomical structure less than a millimeter , and while there are no sampling to observe under a microscope the ability to avoid using samples for identifying a comb jelly has its perks .
“ We did n’t have sample collecting capabilities on the ROV at the prison term , ” said NOAA Fisheries scientist Allen Collins in astatement . “ Even if we had the equipment , there would have been very little prison term to treat the animal because gelatinous animals do n’t preserve very well ; comb jelly are even worse than jellyfish in this regard . gamey - calibre television and photography were crucial for describing this new species . ”
As well as allowing the scientists to reexamine arcminute details of the comb jelly , they were also able-bodied to observe some unusual behaviors from the footage . They had tenacious tentacles which aided them to drift across the sea bed a bit like a red-hot air travel balloon attach to the base with two line . Whether or not these tentacles were actually attached to the storey was n’t clear , but they were capable to maintain a specific height above the seafloor , implying they may at least be touch the seabed .
“ We ’re not indisputable of their role in the ecosystem yet , ” said NOAA Fisheries scientist Mike Ford . “ We can consider that it serves similar roles to other ctenophore near the sea floor and it also has some similarity to other ctenophores in open ocean areas . We saw the species three times in a comparatively modest sphere ; hopefully , that means they ’re not extremely rare . ”
