On Oct 22, 2026 researchers described two new siphonophores. The twist: each one isn't a single animal but a swimming colony of clones — and its relatives are the longest animals on Earth.
Oct 22, 2026: MBARI and partners named Bargmannia marlena and the fiery-red B. pyrosa, combining robot footage, museum specimens and DNA from a formalin-preserved relic.
A spiraling Apolemia filmed off Australia was estimated near 120 metres — possibly the longest animal recorded. It is a cousin of the newly named species.
Animalogic unpacks how a siphonophore is really a colony of specialized zooids — each a body with one job, stitched into a single hunting creature.
Deep-sea ROV footage of a live siphonophore drifting in the dark, its swimming bells pulsing in eerie unison.
A colonial cnidarian built from thousands of genetically identical zooids that can no longer survive alone — a blurred line between individual and colony.
The Portuguese man o' war looks like one jellyfish but is the same kind of colony — four types of zooid, including a float and venomous fishing tentacles.
Guinness recognizes a siphonophore as the longest animal in the sea — a title held by a creature that is technically a floating city of clones.