Pickle-Like Sea Creature is Taking Over The Pacific
Imagine going to the beach and finding a see-through creature that resembles a pickle. For people living near the Pacific, this is currently their reality. The bizarre bioluminescent invertebrates are known as pyrosomes. Earlier this Spring, these jellyfish-like creatures were being hooked on fishing rods or trapped in nets on the West Coast, according to National Geographic.
Millions of tropical sea creatures 'blooming' off B.C. coast https://t.co/IJTDZYYlP1 pic.twitter.com/DPlWUbzzOA
— CBC News (@CBCNews) June 19, 2017
Now the creatures are being caught in the Pacific in a high amount. Rick Brodeur, who is a research biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Oregon stated that “It’s just unbelievable how many of them are.”
It was reported that in five minutes, researchers pulled up 60,000 pyrosomes. Scientists are unsure why or how these strange creatures made it to the Pacific. To add to the extreme confusion, researchers also do not know a lot about the creature.
https://twitter.com/PaulMacoun/status/876538656974143489
These creatures are generally found in the waters of the Ivory Coast, Mediterranean Sea, in Australia or Florida says National Geographic. If you manage to catch one, their bodies are hard and, when handled, they ooze.
https://twitter.com/PaulMacoun/status/876054413130989568
Leon Shaul, who works for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game stated to National Geographic, “When fishermen were trolling for chinook in midwater, they were dragging these lines with 50 hooks and they were coming up with these things on basically every hook, it got to the point where they couldn’t effectively feed fish.”
Due to the overabundance of these creatures, water in some areas has become noticeably thick. At night, the water starts to glow because of their bioluminescent abilities.
This week, we've been dazzled by flurries of pyrosomes (gelatinous colonial tunicates) as ROV Hercules ascends to the surface! #ONCAbyss pic.twitter.com/N4UQMBEcdH
— E/V Nautilus (@EVNautilus) June 14, 2017
Scientists have not noticed any impact from the sea creatures. They are also unaware what they are eating or who is their prey. Researchers have only noticed the “sablefish, also called black cod” eating a few pyrosomes and then regurgitating their bodies.
At this point, only time will reveal more information about the strange marine creature.
Sarah is a Hufflepuff living in NYC. When she is not traveling or talking to random animals, she is working as a script writer. Tweet her at @lumpyspacederp
