New strange underwater creature discovered on video

NOOA scientists have discovered a new underwater creature thanks to high definition video images. What creature is it?

It has been named Duobrachium sparksae , a strange gelatinous creature of the ctenophore species , found by a remote vehicle off the coast of Puerto Rico in 2015.

LOOK AT THE VIDEO:

The novelty of this discovery is that it could not be examined under a laboratory microscope. After doing the necessary investigations from the video images, it was concluded that it is a new species of ctenophore , since it can be easily distinguished from the others.

The most notable feature of the Duobrachium sparksae species , is its bulbous, balloon-like body with two prominent tentacle arms.

Although they look like jellyfish, they are not related. The ctenophores are carnivorous and survive on the basis of small arthropods and various types of larvae.

Strange behaviour

“The ctenophore has long tentacles and we observed an interesting movement. It moved like a hot air balloon attached to the seafloor in two lines, maintaining a specific altitude above the seafloor,” said Mike Ford, one of the NOAA Fisheries scientists.

The biologist said it is not known what role the new species plays in the ecosystem. Although it may be similar to the same creatures of the ctenophore family.

It seems that they are not so rare, since it could be observed on three occasions in a relatively small area.

Although it is controversial to identify new species through videos, in this case, since it was HD, the scientists said they had no problem admitting them. The videos are now part of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History Collection and are publicly accessible.

Imagine how much remains to be discovered in our curious world! What do you think?

Source: [ NOOA ]