He Shall Be My Squishy

Nautilus is a floating laboratory equipped with specialized cameras used for peeking at the ocean floor. On the look out for corals, the research vessel happened upon a very unusual purple blob almost hidden within a crevice. Not moving much and seemingly attached to the coral, the scientists wonder what this creature could possibly be. As they watch, a large crab strolls in as if to remind them of his presence.

After many guesses of identity, the team decides to zoom in and use their deep sea vacuum to bring it in for investigation.

“This unidentified purple orb stumped our scientists onboard. After sampling, it began to unfold to reveal two distinct lobes. This could possibly be a new species of nudibranch,” states the Nautilus website.

Nudibranchs are soft-bodied, marine mollusks. They are known to have striking colors with a range of appearances. They can be found at nearly all ocean depths and react defensively with chemicals produced in their bodies making them quite displeasing to predators.

It will likely be a few years before scientists can be sure this interesting purple mass is actually a new species of nudibranch or identified as something else entirely. Are they all purple? What do their young look like? Are they always round? Searching for these newly discovered creatures could bring more questions than answers!

–Mi

Source – http://cnet.co/2avfVoX