Siphonophore: Deep-sea super organism

Another monster discovered in the deepest and weirdest waters in the world, here is some terrific video of a bioluminescent deep-sea siphonophore, an eerily fantastic creature that appears to be a single, large organism, but which is actually a colony of numerous individual jellyfish-like animals that behave and function together as a single entity.

The individual units, called zooids, all share the same genetic material and each perform a specialized role within the colony. The best-known siphonophore is the poisonous Portuguese Man o’ War (Physalia physalis), which lives at the surface of the ocean, unlike the one shown in this video (filmed at a depth of 770 meters).

Some siphonophore species can grow up to 40 meters (130 ft) in length.

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