Two divers dwarfed by bizarre 26ft worm-like 'creature'… but can you guess what it is?

Steve Hathaway, 56, and Andrew Buttle, 48, were diving off the coast of Whakaari, a stratovolcano on White Island, New Zealand, when they discovered the gelatinous worm.

Initially diving to record footage for the island which Andrew inherited from his grandfather, their focus was stolen by the hollow creature – which is made up of hundreds of thousands of organisms.

The worm can be seen moving delicately through the water, occasionally shuddering and pulsating whilst the divers swim gently around it so not to disturb it.

At a depth of around 32 feet, the organism slowly travelled around 656 feet, taking on many different shapes and sizes.

Pilot Andrew said: “Having never seen one in person or even footage or photos of one before, I was quite incredulous and elated that such a creature existed.



“It was very puzzling but also fantastic to be able to view it right up close and spend so much time with it.

“The island is 48 kilometres from the mainland, and there is a vast amount of fish life and nutrients in the water that may have had the right circumstances to become so large.

“I believe it is possibly a Pyrosome – occasionally they are caught in nets but not many intact large specimens have been caught to my knowledge.

“At times there can be blooms of thousands of small versions of these creatures in many parts of the world, but not something I had ever seen before."



What exactly are pyrosomes and how big can they get?

Pyrosomes are bizarre cylindrical colonies made up of thousands of organisms called zooids.

They range massively in size from less than one centimeter to up to 20 metres in length.

Each cylindrical colony feeds on plankton by filtering  gallons of water per hour.

Most species of pyrosomes, including sea pickles, are considered tropical-to-subtropical.

The gelatinous creatures are commonly found off the coast of southern California.

Pyrosomes are rarely encountered by humans, but scientists believe the ocean is full of them.

 

Steve, who founded Young Ocean Explorers, an educational entertainment platform encouraging children to explore the world's oceans, said: “Without a doubt the highlight of the trip was to find the pyrosome – I’ve wanted to see one for many years now.

“The ocean is such a fascinating place and much more fascinating to explore when you actually understand some of what you see, such as the different behaviours."

Andrew inherited the active volcanic island from his late grandfather, who only managed to visit his purchase from the government for half an hour.

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