'Pillar of intestines': entrancing video shows weird creature feeding like an "underwater sausage with hiccups"

Researchers have shared a captivating video of tunicates – also known as sea squirts – developing from embryos. 

In the footage, Ciona sea squirt embryos can be seen developing under the microscope before showing what it looks like when adults feed by filtering particles from the water – like a translucent underwater sausage with hiccups. Their peculiar appearance is why their Latin name translates to 'pillar of intestines'.

• Weirdest sea creatures in the world

According to Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), sea squirts “are squishy and semi-translucent animals that use siphons to filter food and 'squirt' out waste.” Although they might look like underwater aliens, these curious creatures are more similar to land animals than we might think – and they’re very important in scientific research.

“These animals have a close evolutionary relationship to vertebrates, but their relatively simple bodies and compact genomes make them an excellent research subject,” says Nipam Patel, Director at the MBL.

According to the institution, this means that researchers can study sea squirts to try to “answer fundamental questions about the evolution and development of life.”

Main image: Ciona tunicate feeding/Nipam Patel, Robert Zeller, Bioquest Studios, and the Marine Biological Laboratory

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