2023-09-11 13:24:32
Appearance of the unknown creature extracted from the bottom of the Gulf of Alaska – NOAA
MADRID, 11 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A maritime expedition in the Gulf of Alaska has collected a golden-colored creature at a depth of 3,000 meters that does not fit any known description for a living being.
Amid a handful of white sponges, this smooth, golden, dome-shaped specimen, just over 10 centimeters in diameter, was firmly attached to a rock. A small hole or tear near its base revealed a similar colored interior, as shown by the cameras of the remote exploration vehicle that located the creature. The discovery occurred on August 30 during Dive 7 of the expedition’s remote exploration vehicle, embarked on the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer.
“Although we were able to collect the ‘golden orb’ and take it to the ship, we still cannot identify it beyond the fact that it is of biological origin,” he explained it’s a statement Sam Candio, NOAA scientist and coordinator of the Seascape Alaska 5: Gulf of Alaska Remotely Operated Vehicle Exploration and Mapping expedition.
“Probably We won’t learn more until we can get it into a lab. where we can continue to leverage the collective expertise of the scientific community with more sophisticated tools than we can keep on the ship. While it is a bit humiliating to be stumped by this finding, it serves as reminder of how little we know about our own planet and how much there is to learn and appreciate about our ocean,” Candio said.
There will be no ROV dive today as #Oceans is in transit, but we plan to be back in the water this weekend. Meanwhile, peruse photos and video of the moment we came across this unidentified gold specimen: https://t.co/mKcs7ziGJq#seascapealaska #explore #ocean #Alaska #Oceans pic.twitter.com/YN5I9uuB85
— NOAA Ocean Exploration (@oceanexplorer) September 8, 2023
It is not yet clear whether the ‘golden orb’ is associated with a known species, a new species, or perhaps it represents an unknown life stage of an existing one.
#Scientific #confusion #sea #creature #Alaska