Marine biologists from the University of Copenhagen have discovered two new species that “defy all existing classifications of life.” They are rather cute and pretty—like some monsters from a Mario Bros. game.
Found in the sea southeast of Australia, the research paper published in PLOS ONE describes two asymmetrical mushroom shaped beings found at a depth of 400 to 1000 meters:
A new genus, Dendrogramma, with two new species of multicellular, non-bilaterian, mesogleal animals with some bilateral aspects, D. enigmatica and D. discoides, are described from the south-east Australian bathyal (400 and 1000 metres depth). A new family, Dendrogrammatidae, is established for Dendrogramma.
via Gizmodo
September 11, 2014