This video shows “real-life” doppelgangers of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon characters “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Patrick Star.” The video was collected during the 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones: New England and Corner Rise Seamounts expedition at a depth of 1,885 meters (about 1.2 miles) while exploring Retriever Seamount, one of four seamounts within the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. “SpongeBob” is represented by the yellow glass sponge of the genus Hertwigia and “Patrick” by the pink poraniid sea star of the genus Chondraster.
Although many of us are familiar with the fictional characters these animals resemble, this imagery highlights the fact that our understanding of the diversity in the deep ocean is quite limited. Case in point, these two animals might actually represent new (i.e., undescribed) species!
Download SD version (mp4, 68.7 MB).
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Video courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2021 North Atlantic Stepping Stones.
Video Feature: “Real-Life” Sighting of SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star