Researchers have identified a mysterious golden orb discovered more than two miles underwater in the Gulf of Alaska as the remains of a giant deep-sea anemone. The object, collected during a 2023 NOAA expedition, puzzled experts for over two years until advanced DNA analysis provided the answer. The finding highlights the ongoing mysteries of deep-ocean life.
In 2023, the remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer, deployed from NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, spotted the unusual golden object at a depth of 3,250 meters in the Gulf of Alaska. The rounded mass, resting on a rock with a small opening, was collected via suction sampler and sent to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for analysis. Initial speculation included possibilities like an egg case or sponge, but it resisted quick identification despite collaboration among experts. | NOAA Fisheries zoologist Allen Collins, director of the National Systematics Laboratory at the Smithsonian, described the challenge: “This was a complex mystery that required morphological, genetic, deep-sea and bioinformatics expertise to solve.” Researchers employed microscopy, revealing fibrous layers with spirocysts typical of Hexacorallia cnidarians, and compared it to a similar 2021 specimen from Schmidt Ocean Institute's R/V Falkor. | Whole-genome sequencing finally confirmed the orb as the base tissue of Relicanthus daphneae, a giant deep-sea anemone, matching known mitochondrial genomes. The structure once anchored the anemone to the seafloor. CAPT William Mowitt, acting director of NOAA Ocean Exploration, noted: “With advanced techniques like DNA sequencing, we are able to solve more and more of them.” | This resolution underscores the deep ocean's unexplored nature, where such enigmas persist amid efforts to map its biodiversity.
