Bizarre Blob-Like Sea Creatures of Unknown Species Pulled From Ocean

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Scientists have recovered several bizarre blob-like sea creatures in the Pacific Ocean and released photos of their rare find. The strange animals were collected in the Galápagos Islands by marine biologists Gail Ashton and Kristen Larson with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) Marine Invasions Research Lab. The creatures are tunicates—a group of marine invertebrates (animals without a backbone)—that live in saltwater habitats around the world, comprising around 3,000 species.

The marine biologists said it wasn't clear what species—or even what genus (group of species)—the tunicates they collected from the Galápagos represented. "It is definitely within the Stolidobranchia family. Several of us on site thought it might be of the genus Halocynthia because we had previously found it at the same site many years ago, and it looked very similar," she said. "Many of the species that we identify are small and reoccurring in the bays and estuaries that we survey. So, it is interesting and unexpected to see something different. The scientists said they preserved some of the individuals they collected in the Galápagos and plan to bring them back to their home laboratory for further investigation.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/bizarre-blob-like-sea-creatures-of-unknown-species-pulled-from-ocean/ar-AA197Eh4?cvid=f3998bd4ed2747e1aefc1e1793a6f3e6&ei=19

Edited March 27 by Grim Reaper 6