Meet the giant larvacean, Bathochordaeus.
The animal is actually the blue tadpole-looking thing.
This is the body, and this is its tail.
Bathochordaeus is considered a giant among larvaceans.
Take a look at this one.
It's about the size of breakfast muffin,
but it towers beside the tiny, regular variety of larvacean.
I know they don't look like much,
especially in the deep midwater,
where you've got bright colorful jellies,
big cool eyes,
and shimmering surfaces.
The competition for weirdness here is tough.
Take this silky medusa, for example,
which can dump all its tentacles as it swims away,
or this vampire squid, which appears to turn itself inside out.
Larvaceans can't do that, but what they can do is downright incredible.
The giant larvacean's claim to fame is the huge house it builds.
I'm talking about that big mucous bubble that surrounds the larvacean.
By the way, here is one without a house.
See the difference?
The house is made up of two filters and basically functions as an elaborate feeding apparatus.
Eating is quite a process for these little guys.
They eat tiny particles of dead or drifting plants and animals
that float through the water column.
Here is how they eat:
The outer filter traps larger particles too big for the animal to eat,
while the inner filter guides just the right size food particles into the larvacean's mouth.
Look at it beat its tail,
which pumps water through its house to keep those particles coming.
Eventually the filters get clogged and the larvacean abandons them.
The sinking houses are packed with food particles, and that's a good thing.
They transport nuggets of food to animals living even deeper.
If it weren't for the larvacean's discarded houses,
animals like these sea cucumbers would have a lot less to snack on.
Larvaceans are notoriously difficult for scientists to collect and study.
Imagine trying to catch a goober in a jar... That's pretty much what it would look like
to catch a larvacean house.
But MBARI researchers are using remotely operated vehicles, video cameras, and lasers
to study them right in their own habitat.
MBARI scientists just discovered a new species of giant larvacean,
and named it Bathochordaeus mcnutti.
That brings us to a total of three different species of giant larvacean here in Monterey Bay,
with possibly more out there.
See that brilliant blue outline on the tail?
That's the new one's most distinguishing characteristic.
Remember the larvacean that didn't have a house?
Well, it went right back to work building a new one.
Pretty incredible, right?
For the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, this is Teresa Carey.