The Deeps - Tumblr Posts
I've just lost myself for a couple of hours reading about siphonophores... I swear that before Tumblr, the only siphonophore I'd ever heard of was the classic Portugese Man o' War... Some of these critters use jet propulsion!
In short, siphonophores are colonial animals related to corals and jellyfish. They consist of a colony of connected, interdepentent individual zooids, which individually are often highly specialised (for instance, for feeding, reproduction, or propulsion). Because they are not just a single organism, they can get pretty big...
Top one is an Apolemia, not sure of the species, this one was spotted off the coast of Western Australia, estimated at over 100m long...
Second one, not sure but may be the same as the 6th one below...
Third one, not entirely sure but the bioluminescence looks similar to one spotted by the Hercules remotely operated vehicle in 2005, I believe...
Fourth one is Nanomia.
Fifth one from the top (Bell-like float at the end, with tentacles hanging from the stalk) is Praya dubia, the 'giant siphonophore', up to 50m long... Note that this is an illustration by a furry artist (Kolossus154 - note I do not believe that the siphonophore is a fursona, though I could be wrong), rather than a photo or video, still cool though
Sixth picture, can't ID but looks similar to one spotted by Nautlius live in 2014
Believe that last one is Bathyphysa conifera (aka the Flying Spaghetti Monster...)
(please anyone, correct me if I'm wrong!)
siphonophores will never not freak me out. stop doing that its SCARY but also please don't ever stop doing that you ethereal marine cryptid
speaking of the scary ocean, in the Salish Sea we have bioluminescence in the summer. It’s not like in movies where the whole sea glows. The microorganisms which cause it only glow when they’re disturbed. On a warm, still night the sea is black until you stick your hand in and shake it around, then it lights up blue.
anyway my friends and I dive at night and it’s really cool to watch someone from above because they look like a celestial being in the water, glowing blue underwater.
what is deeply UNNERVING is when a Very Large creature passes you at some distance, and you know because you see a blue, glowing mass go by and you think well, that’s just not my business.