Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/sea-salp-reddit/
There are so many treasures we have yet to discover at the bottom of the ocean, chests of pirate gold notwithstanding. The diver in this video, for example, has found a fish so translucent it seems almost to vanish…into thin water.
First posted to Reddit by user PrizmShadow, the video shows a living salp, also known as a “sea squirt.”
A diver swims over a chain of sea salp embryo.
These jellyfish-like creatures can survive on their own, but most often travel in large groups, leaving evidence behind during mating season in the form of long chains of salp embryos.
According to the Australian Museum, “Salps are semi-transparent barrel-shaped marine animals that move through the water by contracting bands of muscles which ring the body (the body is referred to as a test). When found washed up on shores they are often mistaken as jellyfish. The contracting muscles draw water in the front of the test and out the rear. Salps feed by filtering plankton and algae and move using an incredibly efficient jet propulsion system, one of the most efficient examples of jet propulsion in the animal kingdom.”
This diver discovered an adult sea salp.
Responding to the video, comments on Reddit have been informative, as well as hilarious.
“Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?” commented u/Devilnaughtcrying
“Drifting through the sea, wanting to salp again,” wrote u/JackScottson1
“Do you ever feel, feel so invisible, like a house of salp, one step from dissapearin’,” added u/chubbygirl10.
“Do you ever feel already buried deep?” commented u/invisible_stache.
“6 feet under water, fondled by a scuba creep?” added u/WillOrph.
If you answered “yes” to these questions, baby, you’re a sea salp.
Sea salps are nearly invisible under water.
The fact is, the deep sea is a world wholly different yet intimately connected to our own. Species like this have a tougher chance of surviving when their habitat becomes polluted and barren. However, learning about marine life is one way we can improve our appreciation for the Earth’s oceans.
Watch this incredible creature in the video below, and “see” if you might learn something!
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
