Giant Sea creature. - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Darkblack · 07-02-2003, 11:48 AM

LINK
http://www.msnbc.com/news/933992.asp?cp1=1

Makes you think about the unknown life on this planet. Anyone know anything about the projects currently going on to try and reach the deep depths of our ocean?

I always have found it strange we have NASA trying to get to space and explore when we have not explored the entire planet we live on.

There are some weird stuff at the poles and deep in the ocean. I think I am more interested in that than space right now.

The_Dude · 07-02-2003, 11:53 AM

wow, that is freaky indeed.

but nasas is aeronotics and space, we have something that does sea exploration, dont we?

spectre · 07-02-2003, 12:06 PM

The article for those who don't like following links:
<hr>

First thought to be whale skin, it could be huge octopus. The mystery specimen found on Chile's coast is measured last Sunday by Center for Cetacean Conservation members.

SANTIAGO, Chile, July 2 — A huge, gelatinous sea creature found washed up on Chile’s coast has stumped scientists, who have sent samples to a specialist in France for help in identifying the mystery specimen. The blob was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported last week, but experts who went to see it said the 40-foot-long mass of decomposing lumpy gray flesh apparently was an invertebrate.
<hr>

The_Dude · 07-02-2003, 12:16 PM

there's more on this on msnbc.

Quote:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 — A ghostly, 23-foot-long creature glides through the deep sea, its gossamer fins billowing against the black water. Its arms, more than half its total length, trail behind like delicate threads. The squid doesn’t react right away to the submarine’s approach, but it shoots away into the dark once the sub gets too close. Researchers have captured scenes like this on videotape eight times, in four different oceans, within recent years. That’s quite a lot of exposure for an animal that no one has reported seeing before.

USING THIS FOOTAGE, an international research team has presented the first scientific description of the new squid, reported Friday by the journal Science and its publisher, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Although the scientists don’t know exactly how to classify the squid yet, the animal is so unusual that the researchers think they’re looking at something distinctly different from other known squids.
“This is well beyond a new species,” said Michael Vecchione of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Museum of Natural History, the lead author of the report in Science. “New species are a dime a dozen. This is fundamentally different.”
Different, yes, but not surprising to researchers like Vecchione. The squid sightings occurred within a relatively short time, in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. This suggests that these creatures are actually quite common in deep waters — they’ve just eluded us until now.
The fact is, compared with what we know about many ecosystems on land and in coastal waters, we know precious little about what lives in the open ocean.

THE LAST FRONTIER
It’s fairly well-known that the oceans cover approximately two-thirds of Earth’s surface. But consider how thick the living space is in the sea. While life on land rarely reaches above the tallest tree, life in the oceans can exist at many different depths. The deep water below 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) makes up more than 95 percent of the volume of biosphere.
There is a very practical explanation for why we know so little about the deep sea: It’s extremely expensive to get down there. Many of the deep-sea research missions target hydrothermal vents, shipwrecks or other destinations on the sea floor, according to Vecchione. While scientists are developing a clearer picture of biodiversity on the ocean bottom, their knowledge of what’s swimming around just upstairs is fairly rudimentary

“This (new squid) is large, and it appears to be fairly common in this ecosystem, yet we know absolutely nothing about it. I think there are many very unusual organisms in the deep sea that we haven’t discovered yet,” he added.
Vecchione also pointed out that many creatures in the open oceans do not behave like their better-known coastal relatives do.
“When we get down there and see what deep-water squids are doing for a living, we’re constantly surprised by their behaviors,” he said.
For example, Vecchione and his colleagues have seen one deep-water squid grab onto another and tow it around, something they’ve never observed coastal species doing. Another kind of squid shoots out ink and hides in the cloud, unlike shallow water squids, which swim away from the cloud.
The squids described in the Science report don’t seem to use their arms for grabbing prey, as shallow water squid do. Instead their arms tend to drift behind them. One squid even got its arms tangled in the submersible, where they seemed to adhere to the vessel’s surface.
Vecchione wondered if the arms might be sticky, so as to capture small crustaceans for food, but cautioned that the idea was pure speculation at this point.

THE NAME GAME
Advertisement

Researchers will have to capture and examine one of the new squids in order to give it a precise, scientific name. But, Vecchione believes these creatures are quite an unusual addition to the current list of deep-water squid.
The squids are quite large, up to 23 feet (7 meters) long. Their most unusual features, however, are their arms, which are much longer than those of other known species. Like the scaffolding beneath an old-fashioned hoop skirt, the arms radiate out from the squid’s body for a short distance. Then, they bend downwards at sharp angles, so that they drift along in the squid’s wake as it swims.
The Science authors speculated that the new squids may be adult members of the recently identified family, Magnapinnidae. Only juvenile squids in this family have been seen before. Or the squids might make up a new family altogether.
Within a family, organisms can be further grouped into genera, and then further into species. So, finding a new family would signify an extremely unusual discovery.

INTO THE DEEP
Assuming the new squid are as common as they seem, why did it take so long to discover them? It’s possible that people just haven’t been looking. Vecchione pointed out that not only do scientists typically head straight for the sea floor in their research vessels, fishermen tend to stay in coastal waters.
Sightings of new life forms in the deep sea may increase somewhat in the future, as open ocean traffic by humans intensifies. Fishermen are now venturing into increasingly deeper waters, and may turn up new specimens in their nets. Oil companies are exploring deeper terrain as well, according to Vecchione.
The deep ocean is vast, however, and not likely to give up its secrets easily. Chances are it will remain a dark, cold mystery for years to come.

Gortexfogg · 07-02-2003, 12:22 PM

The article said it could be some kind of plankton colony... if that's true that sure is a lot of plankton. It's also supposed to be three feet high in its tallest spot. That's just crazy stuff...

livingitup101 · 07-02-2003, 01:03 PM

gov135 · 07-02-2003, 01:31 PM

I find the sea so fascinating. Everything is so different.

Just imagine all the places we haven't gone. Under ice shelfs in the Arctic? What lives in frigid water with no light? I think this stuff is great.

The_Dude · 07-02-2003, 02:18 PM

more pics

Psivage · 07-02-2003, 03:20 PM

Don't these thing wash ashore ever so often? I remember couple of years ago a giant squid or octupuss wash ashore. It still very cool though. Now all we got to do is find Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

GakFace · 07-02-2003, 04:39 PM

yeah, we find Giant Squid, we just can't manage to find them alive, which is what makes it so amazing....

There is a thing about the cold cold depths in the ocean near the antarctic. I forget all the readings about it, but the species there have slowly but surely adapted, and in effect, they are are much LARGER than anywhere else in the world. The sad part, is if global warming keeps going, these animals may parish. They slowly have adapted and the water needs only raise a few degrees a year to be too warm for their next generation(s) to adapt.

As for the article... Yeah off of Chile, its just a complete drop off into the depths of the ocean. Sure we have seen the ground with sattalites... but we can't manage to explore everything in the depths. Since there is no light.. its too hard to follow any aniamls... and to top it off... we have light, they don't... so they probly run like hell from the light.... We need a new way to SEE them......

*Nikki* · 07-02-2003, 04:44 PM

That is pretty cool. I wish I could go look at that big nasty smelly thing and give my .02 to those scientists.

Phoenix · 07-02-2003, 09:01 PM

fact: we know more about the moon than we do about our oceans

Tom Thumb · 07-02-2003, 09:05 PM

I like it. It'll probably be a while until we find out all that's down there in the Mariana's Trench and such places.

Janie · 07-02-2003, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Phoenix
fact: we know more about the moon than we do about our oceans

Logical, considering the amount of stuff on the moon is minuscule when compared to the ocean, and the moon doesn't contain life, whereas our oceans hold a greater variety of life than earth's surface does.

crow_daw · 07-02-2003, 10:23 PM

Personally, I don't think we'll EVER totally solve the mystery of our oceans, and that sucks. But maybe thats how its meant to be.

Slims · 07-03-2003, 03:45 AM

I bet it turns out to be a giant squid. I bet it is pretty stinky by now too.

Cynthetiq · 07-03-2003, 07:35 AM

pretty neat...

the Monterey Bay Aquarium and their scientists drop a ROV down the sea wall almost on a daily basis...

it's just a matter of time until they find more and more interesting creatures... remember the Panda bear was a cryptozoological (read: like bigfoot) mystery in the early part of the 20th century.

They even recently found new species of deer in the Vietnam area in the past 8 years. So it's not just the bottom of the seas we don't know about...

New species are discovered on a daily basis in the canopy of the rainforests.

krwlz · 07-03-2003, 11:33 AM

So those sailors a couple hundred years ago wern't lieing!!

jets · 07-03-2003, 02:18 PM

Thats really gross looking. Bah! Throw it back to the ocean.

WhoaitsZ · 07-03-2003, 06:54 PM

i've never understood our will to explore space so much when we never see what we have on our own planet.

i remember a man who's been deep diving and an oceanologist for i think 20-30 years say that if they could get the funds NASA gets for ONE blast off they could dive twice a day a year instead of 2 to 3 times a year.

we have animals in the oceans living in 300+ degrees F, we have sounds of animals thats creepy as hell, we see the most beautiful creatures.. i wanna go deeperdeeperdeeper so bad.

there are even areas where you can say there is a lake inside the ocean. the difference in the gassess and such.

space is neat. we will need new homes soon... but for bettering mankind and curiosity, lets get in the deep...

YourNeverThere · 07-03-2003, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by crow_daw
Personally, I don't think we'll EVER totally solve the mystery of our oceans, and that sucks. But maybe thats how its meant to be.

pppft screw that, lets just drain them all! we dont need oceans! and it could be fun!

GakFace · 07-03-2003, 08:57 PM

um.... where do you plan on draining the water to?

Oh! There we go.. We'll just ship it into space with the help of NASA.. see they still get their budget, and we won't have to keep diving... instead we'll just have to wait a really really really really .... really^245 long time

07-02-2003, 11:48 AM	#1 (permalink)
Darkblack Banned Location: Pennsytuckia	Giant Sea creature. LINK http://www.msnbc.com/news/933992.asp?cp1=1 Makes you think about the unknown life on this planet. Anyone know anything about the projects currently going on to try and reach the deep depths of our ocean? I always have found it strange we have NASA trying to get to space and explore when we have not explored the entire planet we live on. There are some weird stuff at the poles and deep in the ocean. I think I am more interested in that than space right now.

07-02-2003, 11:53 AM	#2 (permalink)
The_Dude The GrandDaddy of them all! Location: Austin, TX	wow, that is freaky indeed. but nasas is aeronotics and space, we have something that does sea exploration, dont we? __________________ "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal

07-02-2003, 12:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
spectre Junkie	The article for those who don't like following links: <hr> First thought to be whale skin, it could be huge octopus. The mystery specimen found on Chile's coast is measured last Sunday by Center for Cetacean Conservation members. SANTIAGO, Chile, July 2 — A huge, gelatinous sea creature found washed up on Chile’s coast has stumped scientists, who have sent samples to a specialist in France for help in identifying the mystery specimen. The blob was mistaken for a beached whale when first reported last week, but experts who went to see it said the 40-foot-long mass of decomposing lumpy gray flesh apparently was an invertebrate. <hr> __________________ "Fuck these chains No goddamn slave I will be different" ~ Machine Head

07-02-2003, 01:03 PM	#6 (permalink)
livingitup101 Crazy	Wow!

07-02-2003, 02:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
The_Dude The GrandDaddy of them all! Location: Austin, TX	more pics __________________ "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal

07-02-2003, 12:22 PM	#5 (permalink)
Gortexfogg I and I Location: Stillwater, OK	The article said it could be some kind of plankton colony... if that's true that sure is a lot of plankton. It's also supposed to be three feet high in its tallest spot. That's just crazy stuff...

07-02-2003, 01:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
gov135 Junkie Location: Midwest	I find the sea so fascinating. Everything is so different. Just imagine all the places we haven't gone. Under ice shelfs in the Arctic? What lives in frigid water with no light? I think this stuff is great.

07-02-2003, 03:20 PM	#9 (permalink)
Psivage Psycho	Don't these thing wash ashore ever so often? I remember couple of years ago a giant squid or octupuss wash ashore. It still very cool though. Now all we got to do is find Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster.

07-02-2003, 04:39 PM	#10 (permalink)
GakFace Go Ninja, Go Ninja Go!! Location: IN, USA	yeah, we find Giant Squid, we just can't manage to find them alive, which is what makes it so amazing.... There is a thing about the cold cold depths in the ocean near the antarctic. I forget all the readings about it, but the species there have slowly but surely adapted, and in effect, they are are much LARGER than anywhere else in the world. The sad part, is if global warming keeps going, these animals may parish. They slowly have adapted and the water needs only raise a few degrees a year to be too warm for their next generation(s) to adapt. As for the article... Yeah off of Chile, its just a complete drop off into the depths of the ocean. Sure we have seen the ground with sattalites... but we can't manage to explore everything in the depths. Since there is no light.. its too hard to follow any aniamls... and to top it off... we have light, they don't... so they probly run like hell from the light.... We need a new way to SEE them...... __________________ RoboBlaster: Welcome to the club! Not that I'm in the club. And there really isn'a a club in the first place. But if there was a club and if I was in it, I would definitely welcome you to it.

07-02-2003, 04:44 PM	#11 (permalink)
Nikki ~~~~~~~ Location: Charleston, SC	That is pretty cool. I wish I could go look at that big nasty smelly thing and give my .02 to those scientists.

07-02-2003, 09:01 PM	#12 (permalink)
Phoenix Upright Location: Chicage, Illinois	fact: we know more about the moon than we do about our oceans

07-02-2003, 09:05 PM	#13 (permalink)
Tom Thumb Crazy Location: In a self portrait	I like it. It'll probably be a while until we find out all that's down there in the Mariana's Trench and such places. __________________ My name is marketing. Now buy my product.

07-02-2003, 10:23 PM	#15 (permalink)
crow_daw Idolator Location: Vol Country	Personally, I don't think we'll EVER totally solve the mystery of our oceans, and that sucks. But maybe thats how its meant to be. __________________ "We each have a star, all we have to do is find it. Once you do, everyone who sees it will be blinded." - Earl Simmons

07-03-2003, 03:45 AM	#16 (permalink)
Slims Eccentric insomniac Location: North Carolina	I bet it turns out to be a giant squid. I bet it is pretty stinky by now too. __________________ "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill "All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence

07-03-2003, 07:35 AM	#17 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	pretty neat... the Monterey Bay Aquarium and their scientists drop a ROV down the sea wall almost on a daily basis... it's just a matter of time until they find more and more interesting creatures... remember the Panda bear was a cryptozoological (read: like bigfoot) mystery in the early part of the 20th century. They even recently found new species of deer in the Vietnam area in the past 8 years. So it's not just the bottom of the seas we don't know about... New species are discovered on a daily basis in the canopy of the rainforests. __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION! Last edited by Cynthetiq; 07-03-2003 at 07:37 AM..

07-03-2003, 11:33 AM	#18 (permalink)
krwlz Fledgling Dead Head Location: Clarkson U.	So those sailors a couple hundred years ago wern't lieing!!

07-03-2003, 02:18 PM	#19 (permalink)
jets Insane	Thats really gross looking. Bah! Throw it back to the ocean. __________________ Hey. Wasn't Me.

07-03-2003, 06:54 PM	#20 (permalink)
WhoaitsZ Crazy Location: right behind you...	i've never understood our will to explore space so much when we never see what we have on our own planet. i remember a man who's been deep diving and an oceanologist for i think 20-30 years say that if they could get the funds NASA gets for ONE blast off they could dive twice a day a year instead of 2 to 3 times a year. we have animals in the oceans living in 300+ degrees F, we have sounds of animals thats creepy as hell, we see the most beautiful creatures.. i wanna go deeperdeeperdeeper so bad. there are even areas where you can say there is a lake inside the ocean. the difference in the gassess and such. space is neat. we will need new homes soon... but for bettering mankind and curiosity, lets get in the deep...

07-03-2003, 08:57 PM	#22 (permalink)
GakFace Go Ninja, Go Ninja Go!! Location: IN, USA	um.... where do you plan on draining the water to? Oh! There we go.. We'll just ship it into space with the help of NASA.. see they still get their budget, and we won't have to keep diving... instead we'll just have to wait a really really really really .... really^245 long time __________________ RoboBlaster: Welcome to the club! Not that I'm in the club. And there really isn'a a club in the first place. But if there was a club and if I was in it, I would definitely welcome you to it.