--- title: "“UFO-Like” Sea Creature Made up of “Millions of Clones”" description: "According to a Newsweek report, researchers found a bizarre deep sea organism off the cost of Western Australia. And it's an absolute mammoth." date: "2020-04-08" modified: "2020-04-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ufo-like-sea-creature-millions-clones" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "sea creatures" - "the digest" - "underwater" --- # “UFO-Like” Sea Creature Made up of “Millions of Clones” ![According to a Newsweek report, researchers found a bizarre deep sea organism off the cost of Western Australia. And it's an absolute mammoth.]() *\Image: Schmidt Ocean Institute\* ## Deep Sea Giant According to a [*Newsweek* report](), researchers found a bizarre deep sea organism off the cost of Western Australia. And it's an absolute mammoth. "Check out this beautiful \*giant\* siphonophore Apolemia recorded on #NingalooCanyons expedition," [wrote]() the official Twitter account for the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SCI). "It seems likely that this specimen is the largest ever recorded, and in strange UFO-like feeding posture." https://twitter.com/SchmidtOcean/status/1247231196347674625 The gigantic, silly-string-like sea creature is about 49 feet in diameter, resulting in a total length of the outer ring of 154 feet. But "the entire creature is much, much longer," Logan Mock-Bunting, a spokesperson for the Schmidt Ocean Institute, told *Newsweek*. "The crew is estimating it to be more than 120 meters in total length — possibly over 390 feet long." ## Colony Creature The creature was classified as a siphonophore, a deep-sea predator that is actually a "colonial organism" made up of millions of much smaller organisms. Some of these smaller organisms even have stinging cells that can kill the siphonophore's prey. University of North Carolina Asheville assistant professor Rebecca Helm reached for pop sci-fi to explain what these organisms are. "It's made of millions of interconnected clones, like if the Borg and the Clone Wars had a baby together," she wrote in a recent [Twitter thread]() responding to SCI's discovery. "There are about a dozen different jobs a clone can do in the colony, & each clone is specialized to a particular task." "Let me tell you what this is and why it is blowing my mind," she [added](). "Most of the siphonophore colonies I've seen are maybe 20 centimeters long, maybe a meter. But THIS animal is massive. AND not just massive, the colony is exhibiting a stunning behavior: it's hunting." "Siphonophores are not rare, just fragile and remote," Helm wrote. "As we explore the ocean's more, who knows what other creatures we will see." **READ MORE:** [Otherworldly, String-Like Organism Spotted in Deep Sea Is Made Up of 'Millions of Interconnected Clones']() \[*Newsweek*\] **More on underwater sea creatures:** *[The Deepwater Horizon Spill Created Horrific Mutant Creatures]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()