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Hypnotizing footage reveals a never - before - seen swimming sea slug that corrode using a large jelly - same hood and glows to defend itself from vulture .
Living at deepness of between 3,300 and 13,100 foundation , ( 1,000 to 4,000 meters ) , the mystery mollusc ( Bathydevius caudactylus ) is the first sea slug species found hold out in the bass H2O pillar . investigator first captured footage of the animal in February 2000 using a remotely operated vehicle ( ROV ) off the Monterey Bay coast . They spent the next 20 year pick up more and gathering enough information to issue the most comprehensive description of a deep - ocean animal to date .
The newly described mystery molluskBathydevius caudactylus.
Nudibranchs , or sea lick , ordinarily survive and feed on the seafloor , but the newly described bioluminescent specie swims through the ocean ’s midnight zone , late below the surface . The newfound species is 5.6 in ( 14 centimeters ) long with an enormous jellylike hood , a fringe tail , colorful organs visible through its translucent trunk , and a foundation , like a snail .
At first , the researchers could n’t reckon out what this unknown animal was , so they nicknamed it the " mystery mollusk . " When they got it back to the lab , anatomical and genetic tests sustain it was a nudibranch .
It is so distinct from other known nudibranchs that the research worker create a new sept : Bathydevius , which refers to the style this " devious " brute horse around researchers with its unequaled feature . It was founder its species namecaudactylusthanks to the fingerbreadth - like protrusion , or dactyls , on its tail .
The sea slug appears to feed using its massive hood to catch prey.
" We were exceedingly surprised to line up thatBathydeviusis a sea slug , partly because it does n’t see like the others , but also because this is such an unusual habitat for a nudibranch,“Bruce Robison , elderly scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute ( MBARI ) , told Live Science via email . Robison head the efforts to describe the mystery mollusk .
" Most nudibranchs live on the seafloor in shallow water and feed on attach fair game , " he said . " move into the deep pee column and feeding on free - swimming , fast - go prey is a real challenge . "
Researchers at MBARI published everything they eff about this off-the-wall animal — through more than 150 sighting across a 20 - year clip period — on Nov. 12 in the journalDeep - Sea Research Part I.
The sea slug appears to feed using its massive hood to catch prey.
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The sea slug ’s semitransparent eubstance likely protect it from being see by predators , Robison said .
The scientists consider the mystery shellfish use its hood like a Venus fly ball trap to catch crustacean to deplete . The hunting technique is used by several other sea creatures . " Several unrelated animals , including the big jellyfishDeepstariaand fragile comb jelly , entrap their fair game in what wait like a living food market bag , " co - authorSteven Haddock , senior scientist at MBARI , assure Live Science via email . " It ’s like throwing a rophy net to stop a charging lion . "
Although the mystery mollusk feast in a similar way to the lion ’s mane nudibranch ( Melibe leonina ) and the veiled sea slug ( Tethys fimbria ) , these specie are only distantly related , so this is a case of convergent evolution .
" Given the hereditary detachment from all other nudibranchs and its radically divergent torso plan , it seems clear that this is a successful evolutionary experimentation , " Robison say .
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When under scourge , the mystery story mollusk use bioluminescence to distract its vulture . In one instance , researcher see it detach a bioluminescent tree branch as a steerer , similar to a lizard dropping its tail .
The closed book mollusk is known to go in the northeastern Pacific Ocean , from Oregon to Southern California . However , expert think its distribution could be more widespread , as NOAA researchers have observed a standardised - calculate animal in theMariana Trench — the deepest part of the sea , place in the Western Pacific .
The experts still want to solve the puzzle of how this animal feeds . " We know what it eats but we ca n’t figure out how this slow - moving sea biff can captivate those very immobile shrimp , " Robison tell .
