“Absurd Creature of the Week: The 100-Foot Sea Critter That Deploys a Net of Death”, an article by Matt Simon, is all about a deep sea creature called a siphonophore. Now what is a siphonophore? Imagine, like, a bunch of jellyfish. Now imagine them sewn together. It’s kinda like that, except 100 feet long. A siphonophore is actually made up of clones of the original siphonophore. The clones act as different organs, even though the siphonophore first began as a single tentacle, which is pretty lame. What’s not super lame, however, is that the tentacle clones link together to form an electrified curtain of deadly neurotoxins. The clones also make up reproductive organs, and rigid protective scales. We do not know how these tiny bodies communicate with each other, but we do know what relatives the siphonophores have, which is kinda important, I guess. They are called cnidaria, and they are relatives of the jellyfish and the Portuguese man o’war. However, their nervous systems are way simpler, which is uncool, but hey, who can blame them. I mean, they still have pretty “neat” adaptations, like mimicking red copepod and eating their predators, excellently demonstrating how cruel this world is. (Simon, 2014)
All in all, I find these creatures to be disgusting. I mean, they’re super terrifying, as most undersea creatures are, with their worm like limbs and glowing sockets. However at the same time, I am extremely impressed with how they exist. For a creature with such a simple nervous system working to clone itself into a 100 foot long beast, that's pretty jaw dropping. Also, they are fiercely gorgeous, swimming through the ocean like a electrifying curtain of tentacle. Wait never mind that sounds kind of gross.
Your summary of he article gives me all I need to know about the disgusting siphonophores. I really hope I never encounter one. You gave great information about the siphonophores and I now know what they look like and how they function. ~Samantha S
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