It’s 7-10 feet long, and they don’t know what it is.
Exactly.
Actually, they think they know kinda what it is, but there not 100% sure–and therein lies a mystery (or at least a little uncertainty).
The critter to the left (the long, greyish-white one) was filmed in the waters off Florida, and both the diver and the Smithsonian Institute aren’t exactly sure what it is.
GET THE STORY.
WATCH VIDEO OF THE CREATURE.
INFO ON THE GENERAL KIND OF CREATURE THEY THINK IT IS.
Author: Jimmy Akin
Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."
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It’s 7-10 feet long, and they don’t know what it is.
Too bad they won’t name it until it has been captured. I understand the hesitancy to name something there is not a sample of but likely enough this thing would have died or been stuck in some aquarium if it had been captured, and considering that this is a coastal speacies in a well studied area it must either be very rare, very rare in the area, or almost never get nearly that big. For all we know that capture could drive the species to extinction.
I’m not the biggest fan of marine worms though. One time I was at Moscow State University’s White Sea biological station up by the arctic circle and we had these mugs and silverware that we had to wash in the sea and then rinse with a very little cold fresh water (there wasn’t enough fresh water to wash everything in and no hot water unless you heated it yourself). One time I was washing my stuff and this giant (maybe 8 in) ugly red and blue polycheate worm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychaete) swam up from the bottom, I think to snack on the leftover food from the silverware. I guess I’m just sqeemish, but it startled me and later it was a bit wierd eating with that silverware and mug, remembering what was living in the water it was washed with.
that should have said “pink and blue”. It was an ugly little bastard with lots of fast, leg-like parapodia that made it look like a sort of giant lumpy centipede crawling through the water.
Considering that it was found off Palm Beach County, perhaps it’s part of an advance legal team preparing for the 2008 elections.
Oh! I thought that it was the spine of one of our American bishops.
Actually, it’s easy to tell what it is.. it’s a no brainer!
It’s a partial roll of “Charmin”.
Unfortunately, the photographer was too scared to ‘squeeze it’ for positive identification!!
To me it kind of looks like the worlds longest tube sock. A fish swam into it and got stuck in the toe – as the fish swims the whole thing moves. I know its not exactly the right color for a tube sock, but if you spent that long on the bottom of the sea you’d be that pale greenish/grayish color too.
>Unfortunately, the photographer was too scared to ‘squeeze it’ for positive identification!!
Yup. Mr. Whipple got that restraining order from a really strict judge 🙂
“Oh! I thought that it was the spine of one of our American bishops.”
Hey thats my bishop you’re talking about!
No, it is I who will eat….then again, maybe not.
Oh, that’s just nasty.
Okay, now what Frat was responsible for this tissue raid!?!?!?
I guess I’m just sqeemish, but it startled me and later it was a bit wierd eating with that silverware and mug, remembering what was living in the water it was washed with.
But gakh is best served live!
A disturbing bit from my invertebrate Zoology Lab:
“Now you have to find the worm’s vagina.”
*ugh*
*puke*
True story. I have worse ones from the Gross Anatomy Lab.
So that’s where the belt from my light blue bathrobe ended up after it vanished in the dryer …
No! That’s not your’s…its Zhazha Gabors! she lost it on her last Carnival cruise to the Bahama’s.
..must have been adopted by an upper class hermit crab?
Who knows what lurks in the bloody waters, waiting to take revenge on Man’s sins?
Who knows what lurks in the bloody waters, waiting to take revenge on Man’s sins?
Nemo???
It looks very un-delicious and it probably would have to be given its overall size color and speed. One of the close-ups looks like it had a nice chunk bitten out of it.
This may be the only creature whose main defense is its utter repugnance.
Great story JR!