This week, a marine scientist spotted the real-life counterparts of famous Nickelodeon cartoon characters SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star together near an underwater mountain mile deep in the Atlantic.
Marine scientist, Christopher Mah, who was looking through footage of a recent dive in the Atlantic Ocean, found two creatures – a real-life yellow sponge and pink sea star – resembling the famous cartoon characters Sponge Bob and Patrick deep under the Atlantic waves. A remotely operated deep-sea vehicle found the duo on the side of an underwater mountain called Retriever seamount, which is located 200 miles east of New York City, reports Insider.
Also, Mah wrote, “I normally avoid these (references)..but WOW. REAL LIFE Sponge Bob and Patrick!”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Okeanos Explorer ship has been exploring the dark and deep depths of the ocean to see what lurks that far down and how they survive. The Marine scientist was astonished to see the sponge, which belongs to the genus Hertwigia, sporting a bright yellow hue. He also said sea creatures found at that depth are usually orange or white because it helps them blend in with their surroundings and not end up as another creature’s meal.
Marine Scientist, Christopher Mah, told Insider that,
“I thought it would be funny to make the comparison, which for once was actually kind of comparable to the iconic images/colors of the cartoon characters. As a biologist who specializes in sea stars, most depictions of SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star are incorrect.”
“We have investigated up to 4,600-meter depths [15,000 feet, or 5km] and seen a wide range of never-before-seen ocean life, including huge deep-sea corals, much deep-sea fish, starfishes, sponges of which many are undescribed species and thus new to science.”
The most interesting part is that there are around 8,500 species of sponge and they’ve been on this earth for around 600 million years.
Mah also said that these sea stars are carnivores and use enzymes to break down and digest their prey. So the pink Patrick-like creature getting close to the sponge “likely had food, not friendship, in mind.”
So, that was quite interesting. Do comment your views and stay tuned for further updates.