Scientists Discover 'Weird' New Species, Looks Like A Floating Party Balloon

November 25, 2020

A "weird" creature shaped like a party balloon has been discovered in waters off Puerto Rico.

ctenophore discovered in ocean new species

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the discovery in a Nov. 20 press release that included video of the creature pulsating "a prism kind of light effect" as it moved.

"A NOAA Fisheries research team discovered Duobrachium sparksae, a new species of ctenophore, or comb jelly," the organization said. "The discovery was made during an underwater expedition led by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research."

The ctenophore was seen 2.5 miles down in a sea floor canyon. A team from NOAA was working 24 miles off Puerto Rico when a remote control camera recorded the comb jelly's pulsating light.

"I thought: that is so weird looking," NOAA zoologist Allen Collins said. "It's like a party balloon, only instead of sort of having one string hanging down, it's got two little dangly bits."

"It moved like a hot air balloon attached to the seafloor on two lines, maintaining a specific altitude above the seafloor," NOAA Fisheries scientist Mike Ford said.

Watch the video below.