Anonymousabout 2 hours ago
After more than two years of analysis, NOAA and Smithsonian scientists have identified the mysterious "golden orb" found 3,250 meters deep in the Gulf of Alaska in 2023 as the remnant cuticle of Relicanthus daphneae, a giant deep-sea anemone. The identification required whole-genome sequencing after initial DNA barcoding failed, and it highlights both the vast gaps in deep-sea taxonomic knowledge — with an estimated 90% of deep-sea species still undescribed — and the severe funding disparity between ocean and space exploration.