See-through Cucumber - Creature of the Deep

An odd transparent sea cucumber, Enypniastes, was seen creeping forward on its many tentacles at about 3/4 inch (2 cm) per minute while sweeping detritus-rich sediment into its mouth. At the end, it bloomed into a startling curved shape and swam away to find another meal, which scientists recorded on video at roughly 1.7 miles deep (2,750 meters) on a 2007 voyage in the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

At 1.7 miles down (2,750 meters) in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, scientists found this transparent sea cucumber, Enypniastes, creeping forward on its many tentacles at less than 1 inch (2 cm) per minute while sweeping detritus-rich sediment into its mouth. The creature was discovered as part of the decade-long, international 14-project Census of Marine Life. Credit: Larry Madin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

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