The US Fish and Wildlife Service's Midwest Fisheries Center in Onalaska, WI uses underwater acoustic telemetry receivers to track wildlife. Recently, they hauled one of the gadgets to the surface only to find it engulfed by a colony of strange creatures.
"This blob of jelly is an animal—thousands of animals, to be precise," the Center reports. "Pectinatella magnifica, also known as the Magnificent Bryozoan (what a name!), forms large colonies, sometimes bigger than a basketball. Each individual animal, called a zooid, is smaller than a sesame seed and looks like a tiny horseshoe with tentacles. These zooids live together in dense, jelly-like masses where they feed and reproduce."
While the Center scientists say that it's not uncommon to find snails, mussels, and crayfish making their home on the telemetry devices, this is the first time they've found one entirely coated in Magnificent Bryozoan. Wonder what the bizarre blob was trying to prevent the acoustic sensor from hearing!
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