VIDEO: Strange purple blob discovered at the bottom of the ocean

While scanning around with an underwater drone, researchers onboard E/V Nautilus found an unfamiliar purple blob in deep waters off the coast of California.

A video recently posted online showed the moment of discovery and the audio feed captured bemused scientists on the research vessel in a light-hearted debate over what they may have stumbled onto.

“We have like a dark purple blob on the left,” said a female scientist.

“Blobus purplus,” another scientist joked.

The team went on to discuss if the blob is a creature or some kind of egg sac.

“I’m stumped, I have no idea,” someone on the video said.

The team eventually caught the blob using a long tube-like device. The researchers then observed the blob, which measured approximately 2 inches long.

“After sampling, it began to unfold to reveal two distinct lobes,” the team told National Geographic.

What is this thing??

The team said the blob could be a pleurobranch– a species of sea slug. Pleurobranches come in a many shapes and colors, but we’ve never found one that’s purple. These creatures live in both cold and warm climates, and are known to secrete toxins to ward off predators.

Despite our ability to probe some of the most remote parts of the ocean, we are still regularly surprised by the appearance of odd ad unknown creatures.

In February, a massive deep sea creature that looked like a cross between an eel and a crocodile apparently washed up on a beach in Australia. Mark McGrouther, ichthyology manager at the Australian Museum in Sydney, told the Daily Telegraph that the creature was a pike eel.

Pike eels are often found in coastal waters and soft-bottomed estuaries. They have elongated bodies, long, thin jaws and large teeth. They are nocturnal feeders, typically travelling to depths of more than 100 meters to hunt for prey. They are not poisonous to eat and can grow to be nearly six feet long.

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Image credit: EVNautilus/YouTube

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