At First, They Thought It Was an Old Tire. When These Scientists Got Closer, They Couldn’t Believe..

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.therainforestsite.com/nautilus-siphonophore-discovery/?

When deep sea explorers see something they can’t believe, you know it’s a big deal.

Researchers with the Nautilus Live expedition — a live-streamed deep sea exploratory mission — nearly passed right over a rare specimen floating along the sea floor.

The creature was later identified as a siphonophore: a superorganism that’s made up of a colony of smaller animals called zooids. You may remember the Portuguese Man-o-War, which is perhaps the most well-known type of siphonophore. Like jellyfish, these aquatic predators use their tentacles to capture prey. Of the 175 known species, some reach lengths of up to 40 meters.

Watch the rare footage here:

Published on Jun 27, 2014
NAUTILUS LIVE 2014 | E/V Nautilus, the current ship of exploration of Titanic discoverer Dr. Robert Ballard, is exploring the ocean studying biology, geology, archeology, and more. Watch http://www.nautiluslive.org for LIVE video from the ocean floor. For dive updates follow along on social media at http://www.facebook.com/nautiluslive and http://www.twitter.com/evnautilus on Twitter.

This beautiful colonial organism drifted past Hercules' cameras, and we followed it for as long as we could keep track. They are made up of many smaller animals called zooids, and can be found floating around the pelagic zone in ocean basins around the world. One famous siphonophore species is the deadly Portugese Man O' War.

We would like to credit Wikipedia for the information read aloud toward the end of the video.

About Us:

The Ocean Exploration Trust was founded in 2008 by Titanic discoverer Dr. Robert Ballard to engage in pure ocean exploration. Our international programs center on scientific exploration of the seafloor and many of our expeditions are launched from aboard Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus, a 64-meter research vessel operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust. In addition to conducting scientific research, we offer our expeditions to explorers on shore via live video, audio, and data feeds from the field. We also bring educators and students of all ages aboard during E/V Nautilus expeditions, offering them hands-on experience in ocean exploration, research, and communications.

[hatrack]

1. VERT cool!

Thanks for the post.

[2naSalit]

2. Wow!

Okay, I learned something cool today!

Thanks OS!

[Omaha Steve]

12. Your welcome

[3catwoman3]

3. Bookmarking for later.

Sounds very interesting.

[leftcoastmountains]

4. Amazing!

[SoapBox]

5. Whoa.....

That is soooo weird.

Thank you OS.

[OnyxCollie]

6. Freaky.

[Beakybird]

7. I enjoyed. Thanks

[spanone]

8. k&r....

[SHRED]

9. Life will continue

Even after we've messed up the surface.

[Goblor]

10. Has my vote! n/t

[G_j]

11. wow (x2)

[Hortensis]

13. Thank you, Steve. I loved reading about this.

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. I am glad they didnt kill it and put it in a jar

[madokie]

15. Thank you Steve

You bring us some of the most interesting posts. I love you for taking the time to educate us on the not our normal encounters in our everyday lives.

You simply ROCK

Peace

[Omaha Steve]

18. Part of the reason I added Wizard to my JPR ID

And I have a room just for this kind of stuff there: http://jackpineradicals.org/forumdisplay.php?39-The-Wizard-Room

Once the primary's are over, I will have a lot more stuff like this like I used to do.

OS

[chade]

16. My favorite part of the video

Is how excited and enthusiastic the scientists are! Infectious positivity. This video totally made my day, Omaha Steve!

[annabanana]

17. Thanks Steve--- I LOVE this stuff!. . .n/t