Scientists have discovered a ‘UFO-Like’ animal in Austrailian waters which is at least 150 feet long, likely the world’s longest creature.
Researchers exploring the deep waters off the coast of Western Australia discovered what they believe to be the longest animal ever recorded.
A research vessel for the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) spotted a siphonophore — a deep-sea predator made up of many small clones that act together as one and spread out like a single long string in the water — that measured an estimated 150 feet (46 meters) in length.
The SOI wrote on Twitter that “it seems likely that this specimen is the largest ever recorded,” and also made notice of the organism’s “strange UFO-like feeding posture.”
According to The Guardian, the expedition also discovered several other deep-sea animals that the researchers believe have not yet been documented, including an octopus squid, a long-tailed sea cucumber, glass sponges and the first giant hydroids ever found in Australia.
Nerida Wilson, a senior research scientist at the Western Australia Museum who led the expedition, told The Guardian that the siphonophore was found as the research vehicle was making its way back to the surface at around 630 meters deep.