Yes, There’s a Marine Creature Called “Long Stringy Stingy Thingy”

One Jellyfish, Two Jellyish, thousands of zooids

The ocean is full of mystery and mystique. (Photo Credit: Pixabay)

Thought exercise: Humans are made up of trillions of cells. Each cell is specialized, and has a different job to do. We can walk, talk, think, imagine, dream, and love, thanks to all our specialized cells communicating and working together.

Each cell is exactly that. A cell.

Imagine, now, if you will, that each cell in the human body wasn’t just a cell. Rather, humans were composed of trillions of animals, organisms of their own, each with a specialized tasks. And all those living creatures came together to make man.

Colonial organism:

Actually you don’t even have to imagine or visualize too hard. You can see these creatures in the “flesh.” Colonial organisms are “colonies” of animals that work together symbiotically to create an entirely new animal. And they are the weirdest creatures in the ocean!

For “strangest looking ocean creature” I nominate the siphonophore. The siphonophore is a colonial organism composed of thousands of zooids.

A siphonophore is taxonomically classed as a Cnidaria, the same class as jellyfish and corals. But it’s really made up of thousands of non-self-supporting polyps and medusa. Polyps are the organisms that make up coral, and in some jellyfish are the juvenile form of jellyfish. The medusa, looks like a classic jellyfish, with a rounded body and hanging tentacles.

What do siphonophores look like?

There are 175 species of siphonophore. Probably the most famous and iconic is the Portuguese man o’ war. Pretty cool to think this jellylike creature is actually a colony of polyps floating together. The Portuguese man o’ war can be up to 165 feet long! With venom-filled nematocysts, you do not want to run into one of these bad boys!

This Portuguese man o' war washed up on a beach. (Photo Credit: Volkan Yuksel, Wikimedia)

I’m particularly partial to another siphonophore specie however. The Apolemia uvaria is a deep sea jellyfish that has the apt nickname “long stringy stingy thingy.” This video depicts exactly how the Apolemia got its name. Keep in mind as you watch it, that the Apolemia is also a colonial organism with many discrete organism making up its long stringy stingy body plan.

Siphonophore are, without a doubt, among the most otherworldly, out-there, creatures on our planet.

And they beg the question- if all those polyps can coexist deep in the twilight zone without conflict, can us land-dwelling creatures learn to live in harmony as well?

Hi Reader! I hope you enjoyed this answer and learned something new.