A mysterious \u201cgolden orb\u201d discovered almost three years ago in the Gulf of Alaska has finally been identified. It\u2019s not an egg, a sponge or the remnant of an alien, as some had speculated.<\/p>\n
Rather, the orb is believed to be the base of a giant deep-sea cnidarian, Relicanthus daphneae. These aquatic invertebrates are similar to coral or anemones and are found between 1,200 to 4,000 metres.<\/p>\n
The orb was discovered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2023 at a depth of more than three kilometres. Researchers found it with a remotely operated vehicle, Deep Discoverer, which was launched from Okeanos Explorer.<\/p>\n
Deep sea researchers often find mysterious objects, but it took more time and effort than usual to figure out this species.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work on hundreds of different samples and I suspected that our routine processes would clarify the mystery,\u201d said Allen Collins, a zoologist and director of the NOAA Fisheries\u2019 National Systematics Laboratory, in a statement last week. \u201cBut this turned into a special case that required focused efforts and expertise of several different individuals. This was a complex mystery that required morphological, genetic, deep-sea and bioinformatics expertise to solve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sequencing the mitochondrial genomes of the golden orb led to the discovery that it was almost identical to the Relicanthus daphneae, an extremely rare species.<\/p>\n
The rest of the animal likely died, according to NOAA. This is why the six tentacles or polyps commonly seen in this species were not visible on this orb.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is why we keep exploring \u2014 to unlock the secrets of the deep and better understand how the ocean and its resources can drive economic growth, strengthen our national security, and sustain our planet,\u201d said Captain William Mowitt, the current acting director of NOAA Ocean Exploration.<\/p>\n
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