Giant Pyrosome and Salps - pelagic sea squirts

[mojo001103]

so cool

[MrsJmarie1981]

I just love watching all kinds of thing tht can only see under deep ocean it's relaxing and educational plus I've never seen this kind before.

[ainsleywainsley]

im always amazed watching videos of the ocean there is so many weird things

[ynamtsihc45]

I've watched enough hentai to know where this is going....

[smeagle9999]

I'm the interesting part of YouTube again.... like animal planet before it became rednecks doing stupid shit

[ectan027]

Movies*

[ectan027]

These things look weirder than the aliens in sci fi moves...

[ELarsonist23]

Hentai is real *insert mother of god meme*

[gordongate]

looks like the alien probe in The Abyss

[EaglehawkDive]

The ideas for many of the aliens in The Abyss came from gelatinous plankton - ctenophores, pyrosomes, salps and siphonophores

[momothebored]

Can you eat it?

[EaglehawkDive]

It is not poisonous but it is probably not very palatable to humans. However, salps and pyrosomes are an important part of the diets of many open ocean fish.

[MrPrussianjester]

Congo line at :50 :D

[EaglehawkDive]

The texture is like very firm jelly - it is harmless

[AgileCheetah]

I don't feel like I would ever like to touch it.

[ChrisBurling42]

Man, the ocean is fuckin weird...

[Sandsibscrazy]

"sea squirts" aka gargantuan floating sperm

[wedgiequeen123]

ahaha its kinda cute<3

[EXPOSEDOV3RKILL]

WTF



[laroseparisienne]

is it real ??!!

[EaglehawkDive]

Yes, it is real. The species in the first part of the video is giant pyrosome Pyrostremma spinosum - pyrosomes are colonies of tiny animals that form hollow tubes sealed at one end - the colony in this species can reach 30m in length!

[MsAkemilovely]

haha.. omg, lost in the internet again..

[settone03]

"witty internet line that's popular for 2 months" -

[justsomeguys]

What's the name of this song?

[EaglehawkDive]

@justsomeguys The music is royalty free, untitiled.

[Pociej6]

Looks like a great condom for whale. xd

[bubble5635]

A giant swimming...sock........derp

[BerkoKaitlin]

I would be sooo confused if I was diving and saw the first one.

[bfielder9]

That looks like Morpha from The Legend of Zelda:Ocarina Of Time @0:13

[MarianaMorales01]

@bfielder9 De ahi se inspiraron D:

[dumbcookie]

loving the music

[BOBSAGGETASS]

That first thing is unreal!!

[immuneDay]

Lol @ squirts

[EaglehawkDive]

Pyrosomes are in the phylum Tunicata which is very closely related to the phylum Chordata. At one stage they were considered primitive members of the Chordates as larval Tunicates have several chordate-like features, eg pharyngeal gill slits, notochord, etc, but there are sufficient differences that they are now considered a separate phylum, although very closely related.

[TheVentrage]

Arent Pyrosomes an ancient form of CHORDATE sorry got it wrong last time lol

[TheVentrage]

Arent Pyrosomes an ancient form of vertebrate?

[EaglehawkDive]

There are 2 sorts of pyrosomes - the small ones reach about 30cm long, then there are the giant ones, which can reach up to 30m in length. The giant pyrosome in the video is about 15m long - we see them irregularly every few years. The giant ones are open ocean animals, but we get a lot of open ocean gelatinous plankton close to shore on the eastern Tasman Peninsula - there are very few other places in the world where this happens. It depends on the ocean currents and winds, and is unpredictable

[Scubaman5000]

That was a big pyrosome! Biggest one I've seen is about the length of my hand. Are these fairly common in Tasmania?

[EaglehawkDive]

Pyrosomes and salps are harmless filter feeders - they cannot sting or otherwise harm people.

[thegamez83]

I'll be scared to touch it.

[zombiebountyhunter83]

Wow!!!