Ocean explorers on the E/V Nautilus expedition for the Ocean Exploration Trust have discovered a mysterious purple orb in the waters around the Channel Islands. The team was unable to identify the orb, but they collected it for further study, though it could take years to classify it as a new species.
The orb was just one of several interesting finds on during the dive.
This unidentified purple orb stumped our scientists onboard. After sampling, it began to unfold to reveal two distinct lobes. This could possibly be a new species of nudibranch.
It could possibly take years for scientists to definitively determine whether it’s a newly discovered species!
