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More than 20 years ago, researchers discovered a mysterious nudibranch swimming more than 8,000 feet deep in Monterey Bay.
In February 2000, scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute were using a remote-controlled vehicle to observe marine animals offshore when they spotted an animal with a large gelatinous hood and a paddle-like tail. I discovered a bioluminescent mollusk.
They were fascinated by this sea creature, which they dubbed the “mysterious mollusk” because of its snail-like features. However, it took many years for the general public to learn of this deep-sea discovery.
Over the past 20 years, the research team has used the institute’s underwater technology to gather more information about sea slugs. They named the creature “Bathydevius caudactylus.” Scientists observed the animal 150 more times and just published their findings in the December 2024 issue of the journal Deep Sea Research Part I.
“Thanks to you [the research institute’s] “Thanks to advanced underwater technology, we have been able to prepare the most comprehensive description of deep-sea animals ever created,” Bruce Robison, senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, said in a news release. Ta. “We have invested more than 20 years into understanding the natural history of this fascinating species of sea slug. Our discoveries will help us better understand the largest habitat on Earth. It’s a new piece of the puzzle.”
Robison was one of the leaders in the effort to describe the animals, which researchers initially struggled to classify into groups. Researchers were eventually able to take a closer look at the animal in the lab and confirmed it was a sea slug, also known as a sea slug, according to the release.
Nudibranchs tend to live on the ocean floor and in coastal environments such as coral reefs, kelp forests, and tidal pools. This mysterious mollusk is the first sea slug known to live in the deep-sea column, specifically in the midnight zone of the ocean, the open ocean approximately 1,000 to 4,000 meters from the surface.
The creature lives off the Pacific coast of North America and has been sighted as far north as Oregon and as far south as Southern California, the statement said. They use their spongy hoods to catch and prey on crustaceans. Sea anemones and some jellyfish also use this predation strategy. To avoid being eaten, the mollusk hides with its transparent body and quickly closes its palate to escape quickly, similar to the movements of jellyfish.
Researchers say the mollusk uses bioluminescence to emit light when it threatens to distract predators. Scientists observed that the creature used “finger-like projections” coming out of its tail as decoys.
“When we first took a picture of it flashing…everyone in the control room let out a loud yell, ‘Oh!’ at the same time. We were all fascinated by the sight,” senior scientist Stephen Haddock said in the release.
Mr Haddock said the discovery highlighted the importance of deep sea exploration and the importance of using new technology to catalog previously unknown organisms.
“The more we learn about deep-sea communities, the better we will be at making decisions and managing our oceans,” he says.
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