Absolutely right. The natural world is full of surprises :)

They may be an example of a transitional form from multi-cellular colonial life, to complex multi-cellular individual organisms with discrete, specialised organs. One which emphatically existed in _our_ distant ancestral past, long before the evolution of Osteichthyes, Tetrapods, Mammals, Primates & Homo Sapiens. It's worth recognising that despite their primitive structures & extremely minimal evolutionary changes over the hundreds of millions of years that this massive clade (Order) within *Cnidarians* has existed, they are of a lineage which is equivalent to our own - both reaching back billions of years to *L.U.C.A.*

not sure if sentient

I summon you exodia 😅

@@Stoonk I had the same thought. This exert is from google: "In Buddhism, sentient beings are beings with consciousness, sentience, or in some contexts life itself. Sentient beings are composed of the five aggregates, or skandhas: matter, sensation, perception, mental formations and consciousness."

It is more someone who decided they wanted to do it again, but fair

wouldnt it seem more like they come after? the organisms that make up a siphonophore are multicellular. its like if hundreds of humans, dogs, cats, and other animals combined to make an amalgamation of a much larger being. weird stuff man.

@@zavye.g Yep. As an ant researcher I believe the label of an 'organism' isn't so clear cut as we might think as first. A human body is made up of maybe millions of species of microbes + cells containing human DNA. Are we still one organism? We couldn't survive without all our helpers. And I would say that we are already doing what you describe: they are called societies and cities, etc.

@@stefan_popp Maybe our Earth is an organism itself, trying to survive in a universe where lifeless entropy is the default. All it does is eat sunlight and poop space shuttles.

@@MrH2O1998 Haha, I think you actually hit the nail on the head. That's totally in line with a reasonable definition of life. Maybe our biosphere will become a symbiont (mutualistic or parasitic...) with extraterrestrial lifeforms.

I agree! Massive predatory deep-dwelling colony organisms!

No sci Fi alien has ever been as weird and alien-looking as this actual creature

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/prGHdZB-u7CYo4U.html ☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️ This short movie is the closest to this concept I've seen

The film Abyss by James Cameron is actually very inspired by those types of creatures, at least in terms of design :) And in litterature, I remembrer the description of souls in The Host by Stephenie Meyer that was really evocative about Siphonophores!

I'm going to write a sci fi series where military scientists use siphonophores as bio weapons- since they're made up of millions of creatures, if they get injured during battle or experimentation, they can easily be replaced or regrown. DNA editing galore!

That’s an awesome creature to have as your favourite! I hope the video did justice to your love of siphonophores :)

@@NaturalWorldFacts My favorite siphomophore is a man o war, its so fascinating

Absolutely! The way those tiny zooids interact to form such a powerful predator is incredible.

@@NaturalWorldFacts They are able to parylize even whales! If their long enough that ie since they are taller than a wale but dont have the strength to pull it in so it could just payrlize the wale, could defenintly eat a un suspecting shark

Same. I’m obsessed.

That’s such a cool idea!! Hope it inspires you :D I’d love to see the sketch if you’re willing to share! My email is lr.naturecontrol@gmail.com

@@NaturalWorldFacts Quite tricky trying to balance the appearance of siphonophores into humanoid forms, but once I get it down I will definitely share! :))))

Well it certainly sounds like an exciting challenge!! I can’t wait to see it :D

If I'm not mistaken, the hunters from the halo lore were comprised of groups of eels or worm creatures 🤔

Hey Were can i follow you so i can see it? I am both interested because of the art and because i had a similar idea so i don't want to plagiarize @huge ears big eyes enjoyer

Thanks :D I hope you enjoyed!

Thank you so much, that means a lot!

I second that. Love this channel

I third that! If that is a thing...

​@@NaturalWorldFacts ✴️ see hi invc

Aw thank you so much friend! That means a lot, I really appreciate it :) Always glad to hear from you

Ik! Once I found this channel I couldn’t stop watching. Fascinating content and stunning visuals. I’ve showed my bf some of the deep sea videos and he loves it too :)

They’re fascinating, aren’t they! There are so many incredible and unique organisms down in the deep sea, many of which we know very little about or have glimpsed only a few times before. Do you have any suggestions for videos you might like to see next?

Thanks so much Shelby!!! I’m really glad you enjoyed :) it was fascinating to research all this. 💛 Sorry I’ve been slightly less active on your channel lately, some exams got in the way but I’m looking forward to a binge session tonight now that the exams are done!

@@NaturalWorldFacts Don't worry dude... school first always!

Thank you so much!! That means a lot :)

@@NaturalWorldFacts I'm really glad you got to see this, keep up the great work, enjoy your life.

Wahey!! Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoyed :D Siphonophores - much more fun than sleep

Aye same, but for me it’s may 9th 12:43am

I don’t even get tired 😪 until about 1 am 🤣

I’ve always loved that quote, I guess I have some deep-rooted love of colonial truncates 😂 or just an affinity for literature. Glad you enjoyed mate! Maybe we’ll glimpse these guys on our expedition, eh?

@@NaturalWorldFacts That'd be legendary, I've always wanted to see a Portuguese Man o' war... And that'd be one of plenty of fascinating things we'd encounter in a deep-sea dive!

Definitely!! Just to be immersed in that unique other world would be breathtaking.

*oceans 😂

What if siphonophores have existed as long as multicellular life itself?

Thank you so much Alex! They truly are unique creatures, and mesmerising to watch. I can’t wait until our MBARI trip with Christian someday, crossed fingers we see some 😁

@@NaturalWorldFacts 😊 I can't wait either. Although Monterey looks more like texmex country than spring roll country! 😆

We’ll pre-pack the springs rolls then!

@@NaturalWorldFacts I actually meant to say Calimex, but I can vouch for it if you're feeling lucky 😆! You like street style tacos? Now then, what was that blob?

Haha 😂 I’ve never heard of Calimex! Enlighten me, is it anything like spring rolls? And oh boy yes, I love tacos!

Yay!! Thanks Nadia :D

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that :)

The MBARI article was what inspired me to mention it - and I believe the footage is from their archives too for that clip!! Fascinating creatures

@@NaturalWorldFacts Your work ethic is impecable! I cant believe how much time you spend just doing the research and you havent started college yet right? Also thank you for reading every comment it really makes the difference.

Thanks again Della :D

Cheers, Pattie!! I’m so glad you enjoyed, and I hope you find the rest of the videos interesting :)

Thanks so much!! I get the footage from wherever I can find it - videographer footage, forgotten clips from old documentaries, but mainly I use some of the stunning clips taken by the incredible scientists over at MBARI, OceanX and EVNautilus who send down ROVs to film deep sea creatures!!

Aw thank you so much 😊

So glad you enjoyed!! :)

Thank you, the weird stuff’s the best stuff 😉 I’m so glad you enjoyed!

That’s very kind, thank you :)

Yup! I watched that episode too! ☺️ It taught me so much about the oceans when I was a kid.

@@NaturalWorldFacts damn i am gonna guess you watched wild kratts too

I never did get to see that unfortunately. I’m sure I would have loved it. Did you ever watch Deadly 60?

@@NaturalWorldFacts sadly no .

oh my god i’m binging that show right now

Their biology always blows me away! So well coordinated

Thanks so much :)

@@NaturalWorldFacts ur welcome! This vidéo inspired me to make a very interesting accessorie, also could you please tell me the name of the music, the first one n the background?

I’m so glad you enjoyed! :) Are there any video topics you’d like to see next?

@@NaturalWorldFacts I'll have to go through your playlists first. There are so many that I want to watch! I am fascinated by the microscopic world.

Aw thank you so much!! Yes, let me know your thoughts, and any suggestions. Looking forward to hearing what interests you :)

Thanks again man

I’m with you on that one!!

I’m picturing the Drake meme to this comment 😂😂

Cheers Joe!!

Siphonophores are colonies of zooids. The zooids are multicellular organisms. Think of it like your tissues and organs being made of small animals rather than just cells.

@@miko5167 well couldn’t you technically already think of each of your organs like that??? Like our liver and kidneys could be separate organisms that are parts of the whole, mouth to esophagus/stomach being another, large/small intestine leading towards the colon could be considered another organism. The heart, lungs, and circulatory system, ect.... are each their own differing organisms that make up organelles of a human. I mean thats what the description of a Siphonophore sounds like. Each organism has a specific job/function to do, just like our organs. They are apparently all grown/cloned from the same being, which sounds alot like how we develop from cells to fetus. Im looking to try an understand the separation between organ and organism in this scenario, and the differences that are derived for the defining of each.

@@brianpj5860 You have a good point but our organs are groups of tissues working together that are formed by cells and connective tissue. In sinophores the equivalent of gastrointestinal system is gastric cavity formed by gastrozooids. Our stomach mucosa is made of specific cells (parietal cells, chief cells etc.) However, gastrozooids are separate animals working together to digest food and supply the other zooids with nutrients. So in summary: organ like structures of sinophores like the gastric cavity are made of zooids that are multicellular animals whereas our stomach for example is made of cells. Our organs are too dependent on each other to be considered independent organisms. All our organs require the same interconnected blood supply that the gastrointestinal system supplies with nutrients and lungs supply with oxygen etc. All the organs require outside control also (the nervous system mainly). Sinophores don't need a circulatory system or lungs/gills, nervous system, endocrine system and so on because they are made of more independent units (zooids). Also, yes all the zooids bud from a single precursor. Our cells all derive from a zygote cell but the difference is that the precursor zooid and the other zooids that bud from it are all multicellular animals, not cells.

@@miko5167 thank you for that reply, and taking the time to answer. I think I understand it better now. I guess the thing I really should be looking to explore is the intricacies between single cellular and multi-cellular life, and if its possible for a bunch of individual single cellular organisms to come together to make a multicellular animal.....

@@brianpj5860 No problem. This is a difficult topic indeed because sinophores are in a way an intermediate form between an organism and a colony. They have qualities of both. In biology classification is often difficult and sometimes quite arbitrary. Exceptions always exist. That is why in classification it's very important to consider multiple characteristics of an organism/colony and not just a single one.

Just imagine every human on earth joined by the internet and metaverse.

Choosing the music is my fave part

@@NaturalWorldFacts hey speaking of the music, what was that song you chose at the end there? It’s almost 1 am and this video and that music just have me feelin’ good!

For sure! It’s a marvel how so many tiny creatures are able to work together so seamlessly

@@NaturalWorldFacts it certainly is

We humans could learn a thing or two from zooids 😂 At cooperating, they take the win