A ghostly sea creature that’s almost totally transparent drags a fish to its doom in otherworldly new footage.
Diver Pedro Valencia knew he was seeing something special when he encountered the bizarre seabeast during a night dive.
What he had found was a siphonophore, a creature which despite appearances is not one animal, but rather multiple organisms working together as a colony.
And since they’re extremely fragile, they are rarely seen alive.
He said: “As I was swimming looking for creatures to capture in video I saw something slightly bigger than the rest of the particles that were floating around.
“When I approached I noticed it wasn't one single animal, but a siphonophore with a fish stuck to its stinging cells.
“This is very uncommon so I thought right away that something was off. Fish often use jellyfish as protection but not siphonophores.
“This was an indication that this was not a symbiotic relation but more a predator-prey kind of thing.”
In Pedro’s footage, recorded off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico, the colony can be seen drifting through the waters with an eerie glow.
Its head pulses with a breathing-like rhythm, while it’s lower body is festooned with tassel-like shapes, emitting a white light.
No internal organs are visible through its transparent exterior, only some sort of branching stem connecting all the parts of the colony.
And caught in its clutches is a fish, being dragged lifelessly through the sea.
Mr Valencia, 34, said: “I'm no biologist but I've seen enough siphonophores to know this was a special capture.
“It wasn’t until I posted it online that I knew my suspicion was shared by many.
“The general opinion is that this was a fish caught by the siphonophore, I do not know if the fish was food or just found itself trapped and died by the stinging mechanism of its appendages.
As a scuba instructor, Pedro is no stranger to the underwater world – but even for him, this was a special moment and one he will remember for a long time.
He said: “I love seeing underwater animal behaviour so this was very exciting to witness.
“Diving in black water over thousands of feet of water is an incredible experience that offers this kind of encounter.
“There are not too many documentaries or evidence easily accessible to the general public about what's going on in the open ocean at night.
“So being able to witness and record this kind of interactions makes me feel like an explorer and fills me with wonder of how much we haven't seen that happens everyday in the vast dark ocean."
Siphonophores are predatory carnivores, surviving off a diet of copepods, small crustaceans, and small fish.
