Sea anemone catches sea beetle in the blink of an eye

A team of experts aboard the Ocean Exploration Trust’s research vessel Nautilus used the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Hercules to explore the Nafanua volcanic cone of Vailulu’u submarine volcano in the American Samoa National Marine Sanctuary. They came across an unexpected sight while observing sea anemones at a depth of 688 m (2,200 ft). IFL Science September 24 news.

The footage shows that at first, the researchers were happy to watch the beautiful pink anemones. However, they were quickly surprised when a nearby sea beetle became a quick meal for the anemone. The predator reached out its tentacles to grab the beetle, not giving it a chance to escape.

Despite their strange appearance, sea anemones are quite formidable animals and predators. They are closely related to corals and jellyfish, and possess stinging tentacles to capture fish or other prey that come close. Observations like those made by ROV Hercules can help scientists better understand the relationships between animals that live in remote areas of the sea.

The beetle in the video is actually an Isopod (Isopoda), which includes more than 10,000 species of crustaceans. Despite their large size differences, species in this order have in common two pairs of antennae and a body divided into seven segments, each with its own pair of legs. In addition to living in water, many animals in the order Isopoda also live on land, such as termites.

Vailulu’u is a significant site in the South Pacific, located 3,700 km (2,300 miles) from Hawaii and 2,414 km (1,500 miles) northeast of New Zealand. The team hopes to learn more about the biology, geology and chemistry of such deep-sea volcanic environments.