Golden Orb Found Off Alaska Identified as Sea Anemone Remnant

In August 2023, scientists aboard NOAA's Okeanos Explorer discovered a mysterious four-inch-wide golden orb attached to a rock on the seafloor west of Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, at a depth of over two miles. The orb, initially puzzling researchers, was collected via an ROV and sent to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. After nearly three years, a team led by zoologist Allen Collins identified it as the cuticle and tissue remnants of the sea anemone Relicanthus daphneae. The findings, published April 21 on bioRxiv, were confirmed through microscopic analysis revealing stinging cells of the Hexacorallia class and genomic testing showing a large amount of R. daphneae genetic material. R. daphneae, first discovered in the 1970s, has tentacles up to seven feet long and has been taxonomically debated—initially classified as a sea anemone, then suggested as a new order, and reclassified as an anemone in 2019. The cuticle likely helps the animal attach to rocks near hydrothermal vents, and the orb may have been left behind when the anemone detached and moved. The discovery underscores the importance of deep-sea exploration.