Siphonophore, believed to be world’s longest sea creature, found off Ningaloo Canyons in WA

This spiral mass off the coast of the Kimberley is believed to be the world’s longest animal.

At three times the length of a humpback whale, the 50m siphonophore is a floating colony made up of thousands of tiny organisms known as zooids.

Researchers from the Western Australian Museum say the creatures clone themselves thousands of times and string together to work as a team.

The deep sea predator was found on a joint mission by the WA Museum, Curtin University, Geoscience Australia and Scripps Institution of Oceanography using an underwater robot in the Ningaloo Canyons.

The robot, named ROV SuBastian, completed 20 dives at depths of up to 4,500 meters over 181 hours of exploration.

The creature hasn’t been “formally measured” yet but seems “longer than any other animal” from remote measurements.

WA Museum’s head of aquatic zoology Lisa Kirkendale described the finding as significant.

“We suspected these deep sea areas would be diverse but we have been blown away by the significance of what we have seen,”

Co-founder of Schmidt Ocean Institute Wendy Schmidt said there were countless deep sea creatures which had never been seen before and there were still many more to be discovered.

“Our planet is deeply interconnected–what happens in the deep sea impacts life on land–and vice versa,” she said.

“This research is vital to advance our understanding of that connection–and the importance of protecting these fragile ecosystems.

“The Ningaloo Canyons are just one of many vast underwater wonders we are about to discover that can help us better understand our planet.”