Giant Ocean Creature Found Hundreds of Meters Underwater Off Australian Coast

A giant ocean creature in the Ningaloo Canyons, off the coast of Western Australia, was discovered during an expedition by the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SCI), with a video of the specimen shared on their Twitter account on April 6.

The organism, known as siphonophore Apolemia, was spotted by the SCI’s expedition ship RV Falkor. By using their remotely operated vehicle SuBastian, the crew was able to film the siphonophore at a depth of 631 meters underwater. The SCI tweeted that the specimen was “likely…the largest ever recorded, and in a strange UFO feeding posture”.

The siphonophore is a jelly species. Although it may resemble one long string-like creature, it is a colony of tiny organisms called zooids. According to the SCI, the outer ring of the one filmed by the RV Falkor was estimated to be 47 meters (154 feet). Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute via Storyful