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Giant Siphonophore Documented on #NingalooCanyons Expedition ~ ROV Footage

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 (on Twitter) for ID and information. This footage gathered with Collaborators from Western Australian Museum, Geoscience Australia, Curtin University, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Thanks to Australian Marine Parks. On Twitter, the most frequent question about this footage is by far: "How big is it?" While we don't have exact size, Remotely Operated Vehicle (#ROV) #SuBastian's pilot used INS and USBL systems to estimate the outer ring diameter at approximately 15 meters (49ft), so just that ring *alone* seems to be close to 47m (154ft)! It is easy to see why Wikipedia mentions that Apolemia's nickname is "long stringy stingy thingy" (seriously: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apolemia_uvaria ). However, this does NOT give a fair insight to the amazing complexity of these animals. One of our previous Instagram posts from a previous expedition goes into much depth about these amazing creatures and their bewildering formations ( https://instagram.com/p/B9CXpzmBp-6/ ). Here is a shortened version: It is hard to explain siphonophores without sounding like we are describing a beast out of a science-fiction novel: There are over 180 known species of gelatinous strings called siphonophores, and some can grow to 130 feet (40 m), longer than a blue whale, which is usually considered Earth's largest animal (however, even the biggest siphonophore's body isn’t much bigger around than a broomstick). But instead of growing as a single body like virtually every other animal, tiny individual siphonophores (zooids) clone themselves 1000’s of times over into half a dozen different types of specialized bodies, all strung together to work as a team. In short, despite different functions, all the individuals in colony are genetically identical! - “In a way these specialized bodies function as organs,” said marine biologist Stefan Siebert of Brown University who studies these glorious creatures with the help of Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). “Some move the colony, some feed for the colony, some take care of reproduction.” Whereas creatures like you and me have over millennia evolved different parts of our bodies to work as organs, siphonophores have evolved individual bodies themselves into organs. It’s a bit like your liver up and declaring independence from the rest of you, even though it can't go anywhere. - Looking at their body plan or hunting strategy, siphonophores pose an interesting question: What exactly is individuality? “The whole thing looks like one animal, but it’s many thousands of individuals which form an entity on a higher level,” said Siebert. “So it's a really tricky question. And what's a colony? Humans are colonies—we are colonies of single cells.” Of course, ants and bees form colonies as well. But what siphonophores have been up to for all these millions of years is another thing entirely. They’re individuals within individuals. - (Thanks to Matthew Simon over at WIRED for this great description - check out his article online, where much of this info is condensed from from: https://www.wired.com/2014/08/absurd-creature-of-the-week-siphonophore/)

Objavljuje Schmidt Ocean Institute u Utorak, 7. travnja 2020.