New and bizarre marine creature discovered off the coast of California
The mysterious sea creature could be in the midst of an evolutionary leap.
In 2007 bizarre-looking sea creature was spotted off the coast of California, mainly around Monterey Bay and the Channel Islands. Experts say the hazelnut-sized worm is so strange that didn't know how to classify it when it was first collected at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in 2001.
The species was officially described in 2007 from eight individuals collected in the mesopelagic zone - the region between 200 and 1,000 meters - of Monterey Bay in California. It is believed these strange creatures may be in the midst of an evolutionary leap, slowly abandoning the seabed.
“Chaethopterids are 'parchment' worms, so called because they create paper tubes attached to the sea floor,” Karen Osborn said at that time.
But unlike its tubular cousins, which swim freely only in the larval stage, this worm floats through the ocean, using its swollen midsection to buoy itself. The researchers believe the worms they collected were adults, but they aren't entirely sure since the specimens also show some traits characteristic of larvae.
They had no obvious sex organs, which indicated they were in the youngest stages of life, but they were five to ten times larger than any other known ketopterid larvae.
When placed in a tank with the possibility of settling on bottom sediment, they remained free-floating, suggesting that they did not need this habitat at any stage of their lives. This suggests that the worms are in the midst of an "evolutionary leap", abandoning the seabed for a "nomadic" lifestyle.
Transporting live samples on the research vessel allowed scientists to learn more about this bizarre little creature. For example, its body creates blue light and produces green, bioluminescent mucus, perhaps to deter predators.
Worms eat tiny particles of dead animals, feces, and other organic matter.
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