Down deep in the cold waters of the White Sea, a marine biologist has recently caught on camera one of the rarest creatures on Earth. During an expedition, Alexander Semenov – member of the Moscow State University’s White Sea Biological Station – caught a glimpse of a sea butterfly (Clione limacina), also known as a “sea angel.”
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Semenov and his diving team are exploring the depths of the oceans in order to explore the most unusual and fascinating species that live in this dark world. The expeditions are all part of a project called Aquatilis, which is meant to bring to light valuable informations about those unexplored parts of the world and the of course, about the species which live there.
While exploring the White Sea waters, Semenov and his team came across a highly elusive resident, the sea angel. The zooplankton mollusk is famous due to its vibrant colors and its very unique shape. Thos fascinating creatures usually live more than 1600 feet bellow the waves, so that make them nearly impossible to spot. But thankfully this diver team has managed to capture on camera the rare creatures.
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The sea angels live in the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic Ocean and feed with sea butterflies or Limacina helicina. When reaching the adulthood, they can measure up to 1,5-1,6 inches.
“This miniature creature is an incredibly graceful swimmer,” Semenov shared with National Geographic. “Watching it is a complete pleasure.They seem to float in the air, slowly waving their wings.”
Watch this rare creature in the video bellow:
Featured Images credit Aquatilis Expedition
