Скачать или смотреть The Midnight Zone - Dazzling Siphonophores

Hi members - here's a sneak peak at what I'm working on. Not truly single organisms, and not quite colonies either, siphonophores sit somewhere in the middle on that spectrum! In this excerpt from my upcoming Midnight Zone film, we take a look at some never-before-seen footage from Schmidt Ocean Institute, and delve into their biology, taxonomy, and some fascinating behaviours they adopt to survive the challenges of the deep ocean.

A siphonophore is a modular being, composed of tiny animals called zooids. These are each clones, genetically identical, but their functions and anatomies are altered through mutations so that different zooids specialise, and take on specific tasks to ensure the survival of all.

Along a central stem, these zooids attach, confined to set regions where they remain and carry out their role.

Gastrozooids are the feeding polyps. These zooids each dangle a tentacle for capturing and digesting food, and nourish the other zooids via the stem.

Nectophores resemble tiny jellyfish. These zooids are the swimming bells responsible for coordinating the movement of the entire colony.

On the tip, a gas-filled float aids buoyancy, called a pneumatophore.

Those that bear all three structures are physonnect siphonophores, one of three suborders each defined by a distinct body plan.

The second are the calycophorans, possessing just two nectophores, and no pneumatophore. One FASCINATING example of the calycophorans is the giant siphonophore, Praya dubia, resembling a bell trailing a long stem lined with tentacled gastrozooids. It’s one of the longest animals in the ocean, reaching 50 metres. Yep - that's longer than a blue whale.

Cystonnects possess a float and a long stem of gastrozooids, but lack swimming bells, resembling little more than frayed rope, only able to move at the mercy of the currents (and by contracting the stem).