The ocean is full of animals that look like they came straight from a sci-fi movie, and sea salps may be among the strangest of them all.
What's happening?
A video by creator Matt Rockhold (@MattRockhold) offers a detailed view of the animals, including their see-through bodies and orange digestive systems, as reported by A-Z Animals.
Although people often mistake sea salps for jellyfish, they're a completely different animal. These small marine animals are tunicates. According to the Smithsonian, tunicates have an outer covering called a tunic that protects them from animals like snails and fish.
And despite how they look, A-Z Animals stated that salps are actually more closely related to humans than to jellyfish.
Users on Instagram expressed fascination for this unique creature. One commenter joked, "I'd def mistake them for bubble wrap."
Each salp has a barrel-shaped body with an opening on both ends, and the bright orange part visible inside many of them is part of the digestive tract where food is broken down. Their near transparency is a big part of what makes close-up footage so striking.
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Why does it matter?
As they drift, sea salps function like living filters. A-Z Animals explained that they pull in surrounding water, send it through a mucus-lined chamber that traps debris, and release it from the other end. That process helps to clean the water around them.
The contractions that drive this process also push them forward, so they move and feed at the same time. That efficient setup helps both the animals and the ocean habitats they pass through around the globe.
What are people saying?
Many people in the comments were excited to see the salps.
"Never in my years have I heard or seen these Sea Salp!! You Sir Are National Geographic Rated," one person said.
Another commenter shared, "They are also bioluminescent! We get them here and there in Mass Bay near the S. Shore beaches."
"I always look forward to your catch," a third person said, punctuating their sentence with a heart eyes emoji.
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