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August 9, 2020: Benthic Ctenophore

During the third leg of the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition, the team encountered several of these unusual benthic ctenophores. While most of the ctenophores we see are swimming in the water column, ctenophores belonging to the order Platyctenidaa, spend their lives on the seafloor.

Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas. Download larger version (jpg, 236 KB).

During the third leg of the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition, the team encountered several of these unusual benthic ctenophores. While most of the ctenophores we see are swimming in the water column, ctenophores belonging to the order Platyctenidaa, spend their lives on the seafloor.

Check out a video of another benthic ctenophore seen during the expedition that had scientists exclaiming, “What is that?!”.