Flytrap mouth, paddle-like tail, and orange organs: a "mysterious mollusk" discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Photos and videos

Scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, California (MBARI) have discovered a ghostly transparent deep-sea mollusk. It was spotted at a depth of over 2000 meters below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

According to the researchers, the mollusk has a mouth that resembles a Venus flytrap, a paddle-like tail, and organs that glow bright orange. Its unique mouth shape is used to capture crustaceans, unlike other sea slugs that use a hoarse tongue to feed on prey attached to the seafloor, The Sun writes.

"Thanks to MBARI's advanced underwater technology, we have been able to produce the most comprehensive description of a deep-sea animal ever created. We have spent more than 20 years understanding the natural history of this fascinating species of deep-sea mollusk. Our discovery is a new piece of the puzzle that can help us better understand the largest habitat on Earth," says MBARI Senior Scientist Bruce Robison.

This mollusk was first spotted in February 2000 during a dive with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from the Tiburon Institute off the coast of Monterey Bay at a depth of 2614 meters. The team used MBARI's advanced and innovative underwater technology to gather extensive natural history information about the mysterious mollusk. By reviewing more than 150 observations from the MBARI ROV over the past 20 years, they were able to create a detailed description of the mollusk.

The "mystery mollusk," as researchers have come to call it, is a type of nudibranch. They are most often found in water bodies, in forests of algae or coral reefs, and a small number of them slither on the seabed.

The mysterious mollusks are hermaphrodites that include both male and female reproductive organs. When it's time to release their eggs, they descend and use a leg to temporarily attach themselves to the seabed. When it needs to escape from predators, the mollusk relies on its transparent body to hide in plain sight, although quickly closing its large hood can also help Bathydevius escape quickly, CNN writes.

When the Bathydevius feels threatened, it glows with bioluminescence to distract attention. Glowing granules can be found in the animal's tissues, which help to create a "starry" appearance on its back.

During one observation, the researchers saw the animal separate a glowing finger from its tail as a decoy to distract a predator. Just as lizards can shed their tails and grow new ones, Bathydevius can regenerate its fingers.

"When we first filmed it glowing with the ROV, everyone in the control room let out a loud "Ooooh!" at the same time. We were all mesmerized by the sight. Bioluminescence is not commonly found in other marine mollusks, but it exists in about three-quarters of the animals in the water column," recalls MBARI Senior Scientist Stephen Haddock.

The scientist added that this species is the third time that this special ability has occurred in a holo-gill, and it raises many basic questions. "We don't yet know what chemicals it uses to create light, what genes are involved, and how this trait could have arisen, seemingly out of nowhere, in this animal. It has no close relatives among other snails, so this is a really special evolutionary event," the researcher says.

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