The man was sailing on a handle when he came across a rare 90-centimetre-long tunic.
As USA Today wrote, 43-year-old rower Bill Clements from Southern California caught his eye when he was almost five miles off the Dana Point beach in Orange County – a transparent creature floating in the ocean with only its spine visible.
Clements notes that it looks like only an exposed spine or a strange snake is swimming in the water. However, realizing that he would hardly encounter a snake in the Pacific Ocean, the man decided to pull something wonderful out of the water.
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Notice that at that moment the man had no idea whether the creature would sting him, but curiosity overcame him and he pulled the creature out of the water transparently, then was able to examine it better – as if the creature consisted of individually fixed plates. The creature reached 60 to 90 centimeters in length, and it turned out to be a single organism.
Later, Clements learned that he was lucky enough to encounter nothing more than a piece of sea salt in the ocean. Although these creatures are transparent and look like jellyfish, they have more in common with humans than jellyfish. These translucent invertebrates are known to reach human size. Also, tunics, as they are called, do not have stinging cells and therefore do not pose any threat to humans and are incredibly beautiful.
According to Carla Heidelberg, professor of biological sciences and environmental studies at the University of South Carolina, it is unbelievable that a man managed to come across such a large amount of sea salt on the water surface so close to the shore, because these creatures tend to hide from prying eyes in deep ocean waters.
Interesting facts about sea salts
- Salps move across the ocean by pumping water through their bodies – this method is considered one of the most effective examples of jet propulsion among animals;
- sea slops also use jet propulsion to feed, so they absorb phytoplankton;
- these creatures look like jellyfish, but belong to the group of ascites, which makes them closer to humans than jellyfish;
- some grow extremely fast and mature in 48 hours;
- Salpas’ body lengths increase by about 10% every hour and are therefore considered the fastest growing creatures on Earth;
- Salts are extremely beneficial to the environment – they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by compressing tiny edible plants into tiny granules that sink to the ocean floor.
Previously Focus wrote about a mass grave in the abyss of the ocean – millions of dead crabs at a depth of 4000 m puzzled scientists.
Source: Focus
Ashley Fitzgerald is an accomplished journalist in the field of technology. She currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker. With a deep understanding of the latest technology developments, Ashley’s writing provides readers with insightful analysis and unique perspectives on the industry.