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Name : Siphonophores ( Siphonophora )
Where they live : All oceans
There are around 175 species of siphonophore — creatures made up of clones that are found across Earth’s oceans.
What they exhaust : Small crustacean , copepods and Pisces
Why they ’re awe-inspiring : The largest animal on Earth is think to be the blue-blooded whale , but these strange sea creatures can grow even longer — reaching up to 150 feet(46 m ) in length .
There are around 175 metal money of siphonophores populate in the deep ocean throughout all of Earth ’s sea , although not every mintage is find in each ocean . Many siphonophore are long and string - comparable , but some , like the venomous Portuguese serviceman o’war ( Physalia physalis ) , resemble jellyfish .
Although a siphonophore may look like a single brute , it is actually a colony made up of individual organism called " zooids , " which each have a distinct function within the dependency despite being genetically identical . Some collar prey and compilation food , while others start the dependency to reproduce or swim . An individual zooid can not subsist on its own because they specialize in one function , so they rely on each other to form a " eubstance . "
A siphonophore develops from a single zoid that dream up from a fertilized egg . This first zooid develops growth zones , from which new zooid sprout — the siphonophore replicates itselfasexuallyto make more and more zooids .
siphonophore fertilize on a variety of small sea animals , including plankton , fish and small crustaceans . The species that use toxins to capture prey have zooids that curb tiny but deadly tentacle containing an incapacitating toxin . To run , they tramp their internet of tentacles to sting target and immobilize it , before take out the food into their mouths .
One example of siphonophore alimentation was bewitch by marine life scientist in westerly Australia in 2020 . They get word a 150 - foot giant siphonophore ( Praya dubia ) in a " end of the world spiral , " which traps unsuspecting quarry .
Many siphonophores are also bioluminescent and generate sparkle via a chemic response to pull prey . Although most species glow green or blue , one species of siphonophore belonging to the genus Erenna was thefirst marine invertebrate found to emit a redglow . Red bioluminescence is very rarefied because the short wavelengths of blue and green light-headed travel longer aloofness in the sea — and are more evolutionarily helpful to marine animals .
— Watch ' spaghetti devil ' with scores of pink - tipped sausage balloon legs swimming near Nazca Ridge
— Underwater mountain chain of mountains off Easter Island hosts creatures unknown to scientific discipline , expedition unwrap
— ' Longest animal ever ' discovered in deep - sea canyon off Australian coast
grant to a 2005studypublished in Science diary by marine biologistSteven Haddockof the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute , this scarlet light may avail to attract fish because they mistake it for the red glow that comes from algae in the stomachs of target like copepods .
siphonophore are often hunted seaturtlesor large fish . However , some mintage can employ their sting tentacles to defend themselves against these predators . These fauna are also hunted by tiny , translucent crustaceans calledphronima , or pram bugs , which jaw their way into siphonophores to live inside them , often killing them in the process .
