Mysterious Purple Sea Orb Stymies Scientists

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As Above So Below
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"Have a look at that dark purple blob on the left, there."

With those words, scientists aboard the Exploration Vessel Nautilus uncovered a marine mystery: a small purple orb tucked halfway under a rock off the coast of California.

Researchers are so far stumped as to what the colorful, bumpy little ball might be. Their best guess is that it might be a gastropod (a mollusk such as a snail or slug that belongs to the class Gastropoda) called a pleurobranch — and possibly a new species.

"None of the known species of California pleurobranch are purple," said Susan Poulton, a spokeswoman for the E/V Nautilus expeditions. [Gallery: See Images of the Mysterious Purple Orb]

Oddball creature
The odd little creature, which unfurled into two lobes once it was brought onboard the ship, is about 2 inches (5 centimeters) across. It was found on July 18, during an E/V Nautilusexploration of Arguello Canyon, west of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

A live video feed captured by cameras on the remotely operated vehicle Hercules shows the muddy ocean floor 5,301 feet (1,616 meters) down, as watching researchers remark on clams and crabs. Suddenly, the purple blob catches the scientists' attention.

"What isthat?" one asks.

"I'm stumped," says another.

The researchers decided to collect the creature with the ROV's suction, briefly fending off a nearby crab. They've since sent the organism to the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology for analysis. They also took samples for RNA analysis and plan to conduct a DNA analysis as well.

"Confirming it's a new species will take considerable months," Poulton said.

Mysterious Purple Sea Orb Stymies Scientists
 
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