[ad_1]
- An entirely new species of gelatin was discovered using high-definition video during an expedition in 2015.
- The creature was classified as a new species thanks to the video’s high resolution, which allowed scientists to describe it in great detail.
- There are over 150 species of scallop jelly in Earth’s oceans.
If the image above looks like some kind of weird alien creature from another world, well, that’s because somehow it is. It comes from Earth, of course, but as far as science is concerned, this strange little blob didn’t even exist until a recent expedition found it spinning at absolutely overwhelming depth.
The creature is an entirely new species of scallop jelly, which is a relative of the jellyfish we see closest to the surface. The only difference is that this mysterious jelly lives at depths absolutely unattainable for a human diver. In 2015, a remote-controlled vehicle was exploring the ocean floor at a depth of 4,000 meters when it came across this balloon-like jelly. Now, scientists have confirmed that it is indeed something they had never seen before.
The best deal of Cyber Week today
Purell is still impossible to find in grocery stores, but it is 30% off for Cyber Week 2020 on Amazon! List price:$ 70.00 Price:$ 48.70 ($ 0.36 / Fl Oz) Savings:$ 21.30 (30%) 
Available from Amazon, BGR may receive a commission
As NOAA explains in a lengthy post about the new gelatin, determining that it was an entirely new species was made possible in large part thanks to the high-definition cameras used for the expedition. The Deep Discoverer ROV (remote controlled vehicle) captured the jelly in such detail that scientists were able to fully grasp its shape and various parts of its body, allowing for a detailed description.
“It’s unique because we’ve been able to describe a new species based entirely on high-definition video,” Allen Collins, co-author of a research paper describing the discovery, said in a statement. “The cameras of the Deep Discoverer robot are capable of obtaining high resolution images and measuring structures smaller than one millimeter. We don’t have the same microscopes we would have in a lab, but the video can give us enough information to understand the morphology in detail, such as the location of their reproductive parts and other aspects. “
Believe it or not, identifying a new species via video is still somewhat controversial in scientific circles. Researchers tend to want to have a specimen of a given organism before they are comfortable declaring that it is new to science. However, this sentiment is gradually changing. In this case, where the jelly was spotted in great detail but no samples were collected, declaring it a new species was easier thanks.
“The naming of organisms is guided by the international code, but some changes have allowed video-based descriptions of new species, certainly when the species are rare and when harvesting is impossible,” explains Michael Ford, one of the other authors of the paper. “When we made these observations, we were 4,000 meters deep, using a remote vehicle, and we didn’t have the ability to take a sample.”
Mike Wehner has been reporting on technology and video games for the past decade, covering the latest news and trends in VR, wearables, smartphones and the technology of the future. Most recently, Mike worked as a Tech Editor at The Daily Dot and has appeared on USA Today, Time.com, and countless other websites and in print. His love of the news is second only to his addiction to games.
.
[ad_2]
Source link
