In the twilight depths of the southeastern Pacific, nearly a thousand miles off the Chilean coast, a discovery unfolded on a previously unexplored seamount of the Nazca Ridge. As scientists watched from the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel, Falkor (too), the lights of an underwater robot illuminated a creature that looked like it belonged to a comic book — a “flying spaghetti monster.”
This elusive creature from the deep sea, known to scientists as Bathyphysa conifera, floated with pink-tipped, filamentous arms that waved in the dark waters, a reminder of the astonishing life forms lurking beyond human view.
But the so-called spaghetti monster was only one of many discoveries from the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s third expedition to the Nazca Ridge this year. Over a span of 28 days, researchers explored ten seamounts, uncovering ancient coral gardens, sponge-covered cliffs, and a bounty of sea creatures, including 20 potential new species.
A Mountainous World Beneath the Sea
This discovery highlights how much of the seafloor remains uncharted. The newly identified seamount, towers more than 10,000 feet from its base to its summit. And it supports a vibrant ecosystem despite the cold and pitch-black waters. Using an advanced sonar system, researchers from the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping mapped the 70-square-kilometer area in striking detail. The team also named the seamount, pending official review, and mapped an additional nine underwater peaks in the region.
Marine biologist Prof. Alex David Rogers, science director of Ocean Census and a participant in the expedition, noted the uniqueness of these habitats. “The seamounts of the Southeastern Pacific host remarkable biological diversity,” he said. Many of the species found are unique to these deep-sea environments, he added.
Each new dive brought with it new surprises. With a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) called SuBastian, the team recorded the first-ever footage of a live Promachoteuthis squid. This genus is very rare and previously seen only as dead specimens from fishing nets.
Marine technician Tomer Ketter, co-chief scientist on the expedition, remarked, “Our findings highlight the remarkable diversity of these ecosystems, while simultaneously revealing the gaps in our understanding of how the seamount ecosystems are interconnected.”
“We hope the data gathered from these expeditions will help inform future policies, safeguarding these pristine environments for future generations,” Ketter added.
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Gliding Siphonophore
It is on one of these expeditions that the scientists also caught a rare glimpse of Bathyphysa conifera, or as some call it, the “flying spaghetti monster.” But Bathyphysa conifera isn’t just one creature. It’s a siphonophore — a colonial organism made up of thousands of individual units known as zooids, each with a specialized purpose. So, these zooids work together, like organs in a single body. Still, each zooid is a separate, multicellular entity in itself.
Siphonophores, of which Bathyphysa conifera is a prime example, challenge our idea of what an organism really is. Each zooid in Bathyphysa conifera has a job. Some capture prey, others digest it, while others are responsible for reproduction and defense. Together, they form a creature that can live, move, and feed in one of the most inhospitable parts of the planet — the deep ocean.
Bathyphysa conifera drifts through the depths in what scientists refer to as the “midnight zone,” a world where sunlight never reaches, temperatures hover just above freezing, and pressures are enough to crush most life forms. But this is where Bathyphysa conifera thrives, suspended in the frigid water at depths between 3,300 and 9,900 feet (1,000 to 3,000 meters). With its sprawling appendages, it seems to wait patiently for food, drifting passively through the water. These “spaghetti” tentacles, which earned its nickname, are lined with specialized stinging cells that can capture unsuspecting prey.
Preserving Hidden Deep-Sea Ecosystems
For the Schmidt Ocean Institute and its partners, including Ocean Census, these discoveries underscore the urgency of protecting deep-sea environments. The Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridges are under consideration for designation as a high-seas marine protected area. The move could safeguard the unique biodiversity of these underwater mountains from potential future exploitation. Only a fraction of Earth’s seafloor has been mapped with high resolution. So, vast habitats are open to the unknowns of climate change and human activity.
Dr. Jyotika Virmani, the expedition’s co-chief scientist and executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, says that “only 26% of the seafloor has been mapped to this high resolution, and each expedition on Falkor (too) brings into focus a little more of the unknown seabed and life on our home planet.”
The high-resolution maps will be incorporated into the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project, which is on a mission to complete a detailed map of the seafloor by the end of the decade.
In the last year alone, the expeditions along the Nazca Ridge have boosted the known number of species in this part of the Pacific by nearly 300, from just over 1,000 to more than 1,300, according to recent findings. As the ocean remains largely unexplored, amazing creatures like Bathyphysa conifera give scientists—and the world—a reason to keep looking.