Evidence of the “Flying Spaghetti Monster”

Imagine boating along in the ocean, searching through the blue depths for some biological novelty from a time before time and running into a brain-shaped creature, with what appear to be tentacles, arm-like appendages, just floating along, aimlessly, eternally. You’d probably feel like you were in the beginning of a horror flick and begin Getting the Hell Out. That’s exactly what happened to BP crews as they were doing some research off the coast of Angola when they discovered a flying spaghetti monster lurking in the water along side them. Well, almost.

REAL-LIFE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER

BP company divers were working off the Angola coast collecting video footage of the deep sea. They were around 4,000 feet below the surface with a remotely operated underwater vehicle when they came across this scary looking creature. Not knowing what it was, they BP divers dubbed it a “Flying Spaghetti Monster” due to its long tentacle-looking appendages. Terrified and not knowing what this creature was, the divers videotaped it, hoping to later identify what this creature might actually be.

WHAT IS A FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER?

While you might picture a plate of spaghetti with wings, flying around all willy-nilly, that’s not quite what this thing turned out to be. According to researchers at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, England, this “flying spaghetti monster” is what is known as a siphonophore, specifically a Bathyphysa conifer. This particular type of B. conifer belongs to the suborder Cystonectae, the World Register of Marine Species tells us.
Siphonophores are a class of marine animals that belongs to the phylum Cnidaria, and you might recognize some of the other animals in this classification, such as corals and jellyfish. According to the Christian Science Monitor, this spaghetti-like creature is made up of various multicellular organisms known as zooids. In an interview with Live Science, doctoral student of ecology and evolutionary biology at Brown University, Catriona Munro, tells us that it is rare to see these creatures in their natural habitat.

Earth: The Final Frontier

Scientists have discovered several new species of animals in the last few years, many of which were new forms of marine life, just like the “flying spaghetti monster.” According to the Smithsonian Magazine, more than 100 were just discovered in the Philippines. Dive researchers discovered 40 new types of Nudibranch, and the skeleton of a new kind of heart urchin. It is likely that we will continue to discover various new species of diverse life here on Earth, and it’s exciting to imagine what else could be out there!