Researchers Identify 99.9% Matched Golden Orb as Cuticle of Giant Deep-Sea Anemone
Updated
Updated · WIRED · May 23
Researchers Identify 99.9% Matched Golden Orb as Cuticle of Giant Deep-Sea Anemone
3 articles · Updated · WIRED · May 23
Summary
A golden orb recovered 3 years ago from the Gulf of Alaska seafloor has been identified as the detached cuticle of Relicanthus daphneae, a rare giant deep-sea anemone.
Spirocytes found in the sample first showed it belonged to a cnidarian, and mitochondrial DNA sequencing then delivered a 99.9% match to R. daphneae.
Researchers solved the remaining puzzle by reexamining older specimens and live animals, finding the anemone produces a multilayered golden coating around its base and sheds it as it moves.
The species can reach 30 centimeters across and lives at depths of 1,600 to 4,000 meters, but its anatomy and evolutionary placement still do not fit neatly within known anemone or coral groups.
The study, still awaiting peer review, turns a viral 'alien object' into evidence of how much deep-sea biology remains unknown in an ocean that is still more than 80% unexplored directly.