Giant Pyrosome and Salps - pelagic sea squirts

Pyrosomes and salps are pelagic (free-swimming) tunicates or sea squirts. All species are open ocean animals that rarely come close to shore, and all are colonial, although many salps can also be solitary.
Pyrosomes are colonies of tiny animals that form hollow tubes sealed at one end - the species in the first part of the video is giant pyrosome Pyrostremma spinosum - it can reach 30m in length!
Salps have much larger individuals than pyrosomes, individuals pump water through themselves. Colonies are formed of chains of individuals. Salps can form very high densities under good conditions, and are an important oceanic food source for fish.
These animals were filmed off the Tasman Peninsula in Tasmania, Australia - one of the few areas in the world where a wide range of oceanic gelatinous plankton, including ctenophores and jellyfish, comes close to shore, and is easily seen while diving. Filmed by Michael Baron. All footage and images in this video are © Michael Baron, Eaglehawk Dive Centre, all rights reserved. No part of this video can be used in any way and/or in any form without written permission of the copyright owner.

• Category

  Pets & Animals

[Cross3061980]

song?

[EaglehawkDive]

The music is an untitled royalty-free track.

[Lexi K Tree]

oh damn... final fantasy the spirits within is real...

[EaglehawkDive]

The ideas for many scifi aliens and craft, and fantasy creatures, come from gelatinous plankton, including pyrosomes, salps, ctenophores, siphonophores and jellyfish.

[Eriance]

Is this animal just a large hollow tube?

[EaglehawkDive]

They are colonies of individual animals - the individuals in pyrosomes (very long tube) are very small; individual salps in a colony can be easily seen, and in some species can be quite large. They are all harmless filter feeders, and eat microscopic food they filter from the water they pump through themselves. They can also grow very fast. They are an important part of the diet of many pelagic fish.

[EaglehawkDive]

They are colonies of individual animals - the individuals in pyrosomes (very long tube) are very small; individual salps in a colony can be easily seen, and in some species can be quite large. They are all harmless filter feeders, and eat microscopic food they filter from the water they pump through themselves. They can also grow very fast. They are an important part of the diet of many pelagic fish.

[EaglehawkDive]

Salps and pyrosomes are completely harmless - they are not poisonous and have no sting. They can grow and reproduce extremely fast - under ideal conditions, some species can increase the colony length by 10% every hour! Their main method of survival is to basically grow faster than they can be eaten.

[Peter Zangerle]

Under da sea!

[EditAoC]

wtf earth why do I know so little about you

[Luis Casstle]

This is how complex organism form, from tiny one coming together. In millions of years what would this become?

[pythonmajestic]

0:45 Sea creature conga line :)

[pythonmajestic]

And we've only scratched the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the oceans :) Can't wait to discover more in the future