The giant siphonophore, known only by its scientific name Praya dubia in the first Endless Ocean game, is a species of siphonophore found in both Endless Ocean and Endless Ocean 2.
Though they superficially resemble jellyfishes, siphonophores are only somewhat related. Siphonophores are actually colonial organisms; they are colonies of much smaller animals working together to act as a single unit.
In-Game[]
Marine Encyclopedia[]
Endless Ocean[]
Description[]
“These highly unusual animals consist of the nectophore, or “swimming bell,” with a very long body that stretches out behind it. They are usually translucent white, but have been known to glow blue through bioluminescence. They can be seen year-round in the deeper, darker areas of the ocean.
These are colony creatures, which means that numerous smaller specimens connect together and move as one long chain. Each link of the chain has a specific function, such as feeding, reproduction, attack, or defense, and takes on a form that suits that function.
Their bodies can reach lengths of over 130 feet and are extremely long and thin. Technically, this species is actually a type of plankton. Though most people think of plankton as being microscopic, the scientific definition is any creature that passively drifts along with the current. As such, the Praya dubia fits the classification, despite its enormous size.”
Endless Ocean 2[]
Description[]
"This creature is made up of an umbrella called a swimming bell and extremely long, thread-like organs. It is not one single animal but is actually made up of a huge number of tiny organisms, making the species a living colony. Each individual organism has its own duties, such as feeding, reproducing, attack or defense, so it can cope with anything.
[Big or Small][]
When people talk about plankton, minuscule creatures usually come to mind. However, this 130ft long species is actually a type of plankton. Plankton is actually defined as a floating creature that is unable to resist ocean currents and has no swimming ability; it is not related to size."
Introductory Dialogue[]
"Can you hear me? This is Jean-Eric. That is the giant siphonophore, one of the longest creatures in the world. It's actually made up of tiny creatures called hydrozoa. They all have their own function and contribute to the whole. All to survive in the ocean depths where there is so little food. Isn't that amazing!"
Location[]
Endless Ocean[]
In the Abyss, one can be found at a depth of 495 feet (150 meters) floating above the Whalebone Chasm during the daytime. It sometimes drifts close to the active hydrothermal vents.
Endless Ocean 2[]
Two are found in the Zahhab Region Depths during both the daytime and the nighttime in the Southern Crevasse. They can often be easily spotted near the Southern Cavern. However, they are easier to find at night, and they are also only able to be seen after the cutscene introducing them has triggered, which only occurs at night.
Behavior[]
These creatures are slow-moving and docile. They make a circuit from around 400 feet to 500 feet (122 meters to 152 meters) and back again as they drift along. In Endless Ocean 2, they spend much of their time very slowly drifting upwards until nearly exiting the Depths area, and then back down to the seafloor where they drift for a while until going back upwards. The player can unlock their trivia in Endless Ocean 2 by photographing them.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- This is one of Jean-Eric's favorite creatures, though it only counts as such once the player has encountered the giant siphonophore cutscene.
Real-Life Information[]
- With a body length that can reach over 130 feet (40 meters), the giant siphonophore is longer than even the blue whale, and is often considered the longest animal in the sea[1][2]. Most of its body length consists of its tentacles, and the rest is its pair of swimming bells, the translucent mass at the "front"[3]. True to the first game's description, these swimming bells are also called "nectophores"[4].
- The siphonophore is made up of many smaller animals, so its nectophores and tentacles are all separate organisms working together[5]. Its body can have almost a thousand separate parts that are all different animals[3].
- The bootlace worm Lineus longissimus, which doesn't appear in either game, can reach 180 feet (55 meters), perhaps beating the length record[12][13]. This should be noted with caution, considering that the flexibility of the worm's body may allow it to stretch beyond its natural resting state.
- Though the giant siphonophore is not harmful to the player, nor to humans, it is capable of delivering stings to its prey in order to paralyze and then consume it[1]. In fact, siphonophores in general are remarkably prolific hunters, pulling in more prey than "standard" oceanic predators like sharks[14].
- Both in-game descriptions classify the giant siphonophore as a plankton based upon its inability to resist the current, and this is true, as well as being true of many siphonophores in general[15]. Specifically, they are a type of zooplankton (animal plankton) that are considered "holoplanktonic", which means that they spend their entire lives as plankton instead of changing forms later in life[16].
- Jellyfish are perhaps the best-known example of holoplanktonic animals[17].
- Comb jellyfish, like the sea gooseberry, share the "plankton" classification with true jellyfish and siphonophores[18].
- Animals that spend only part of their lives as plankton are called "meroplanktonic"[19].
- The first game's description remarks upon the giant siphonophore's blue bioluminescence, something it exhibits in real life[2][20]. Many siphonophores, not just the giant, are bioluminescent - about 91% of them[15]. In fact, a siphonophore of the genus Erenna is the first known marine invertebrate to exhibit red bioluminescence[6][21].
- Despite only one type of siphonophore appearing in the Endless Ocean games, there are many types in real life, and they tend to look very different from one another[5]. One example is the dandelion animal (Thermopalia taraxaca), which is a small golden-orange creature[22]. Another is the "flying spaghetti monster" (Bathyphysa conifera), which appears to be a drifting mass of pale-yellow tentacles[23].
[]
Splendid Alfonsino
• Common Fangtooth
• Fanfin
• Pelican Eel
• Snailfish
• Sea Pig
Chambered Nautilus
• Popeye Grenadier
• Barreleye
• Humpback Anglerfish
• Firefly Squid
Glass Squid
• Galatheid Crab
• Sea Gooseberry
• Deep-Sea Blind Shrimp
• Giant Sea Spider
Ocean Sunfish
• Opah
• Polka-Dot Ribbonfish
• Vampire Squid
• Giant Isopod
• Longnose Lancetfish
Megamouth Shark
• Goblin Shark
• Frilled Shark
• Bluntnose Sixgill Shark
• Oarfish
Giant Siphonophore
• Giant Squid (Deep-Sea Battle)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Guinness Book of World Records (Longest Animal in the Sea)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Monterey Bay Aquarium
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Berkley Ecology Center
- ↑ Biology Online (Nectophore Definition)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 MBARI (Siphonophore Diversity)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Biology Online (Siphonophore Definition)
- ↑ Cell Magazine
- ↑ Dunn Lab
- ↑ Siphonophores.org (Colony Development)
- ↑ New World Encyclopedia (Hydrozoa)
- ↑ UCMP Berkley (Hydrozoa)
- ↑ Sci-News (Bootlace Worm)
- ↑ Guiness Book of World Records (Longest Animal)
- ↑ National Wildlife Federation (Twilight Zone)
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 "Global Diversity and Review of Siphonophorae (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa)"; Gillian M. Mapstone
- ↑ MarineBio (Zooplankton)
- ↑ Australian Museum (Holoplankton)
- ↑ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (Gelatinous Plankton)
- ↑ Australian Museum (Meroplankton)
- ↑ UC Santa Barbara Bioluminescence Web Page
- ↑ Siphonophores.org (Lures)
- ↑ NOAA (Dandelion Animal)
- ↑ Washington Post (Flying Spaghetti Monster)