Have you ever seen the pelagic colonial tunicate Pyrosoma atlanticum? They are hard, pink/red and cone shaped - open on one end and coming to a point at the other. When you first see one, you wonder whether it's some strange kind of man-made plastic garbage. They range from the size of one of your fingers to a couple feet long. Click here for images of a normal Pyrosoma atlanticum.

Recently, Bob Gladden got some video of something that is likely in the Pyrosoma family, though it's unclear if it's P. atlanticum. It's much, much, much bigger than P. atlanticum are supposed to be. Bob's video is on Mary Lynn Price's new underwater video website, DiveFilm.com; however, you need a high-speed internet connection in order to view videos on her site. If you have a high-speed connection, hit the link above and check out Bob's video ("Drifters of the Deep Blue Sea"). If you don't, below are some stills taken from Bob's video.

These images are © Bob Gladden.