Mystery of ‘golden egg’ discovered at the bottom of the sea is SOLVED,
The mystery of the ‘golden egg’ discovered at the bottom of the ocean has finally been solved, three years after the startling find sparked alien fears.
The strange entity, measuring a little over four inches (10cm) across, was found over two miles (3.25km) underwater, below the Gulf of Alaska.
Despite being studied by some of the world’s leading marine biologists, it has taken a complex multi–year investigation to finally reveal the egg’s identity.
And it turns out it isn’t a ‘facehugger’ from Alien, a bizarre new species, or even an egg at all.
Scientists say the so–called ‘golden egg’ is actually a clump of dead cells that formed the base of a giant deep–sea anemone called Relicanthus daphneae.
The lone yellow clump originally attached the animal to the rock before the anemone either died or moved to a new home – leaving its remnants behind.
Lead author of the new paper on the ‘egg’, Dr Steven Auscavitch of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, told the Daily Mail: ‘It is so satisfying to help crack the case of the egg.
‘Even years after its collection, we were periodically receiving requests for updates to its identity. I really appreciate that we can bring attention to the small, weird things on our planet.’
The mystery of a ‘golden egg’ found beneath the Gulf of Alaska has finally been solved, almost three years after its discovery sparked alien theories
Scientists have revealed the ‘golden egg’ is actually the base of a giant deep–sea anemone called a Relicanthus daphneae (pictured)
The golden egg was discovered in 2023 by a deep–sea expedition led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The operators of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Deep Discoverer were cruising above the ocean floor when they spotted something no one could explain.
The object was smooth, shiny, and soft with a large hole torn in the front.
Initially, the scientists thought they might have found a new species of sponge or the egg casing of some unknown animal.
‘Something tried to get in… or to get out,’ one researcher said during the live feed of its discovery.
Another team member said: ‘I just hope when we poke it, something doesn’t decide to come out.’
The researchers even joked that the discovery was like the beginning of a ‘horror movie’, in reference to a scene in Ridley Scott’s Alien where John Hurt’s character comes across the ‘facehugger’ on another planet.
Using the ROV’s arms, the crew scraped the strange object off the rock and sucked it up into a tube so it could be brought back to the surface.
Scientists believe the golden lump was a clump of cells that attached the anemone to the rock and was left behind when the animal died or moved on
However, when the golden blob was brought on board the research vessel Okeanos Explorer, all that could be gleaned was that it was ‘biological’.
Online, speculation over the strange entity spread wildly, with many wondering if the scientists may have stumbled across a genuine alien.
More cool–headed commenters suggested that it could be a new species, given that up to two–thirds of life living in the deep oceans are thought to be unknown to science.
Meanwhile, experts argued that an egg pod of some marine animal was the most likely explanation.
Stumped, the researchers sent the sample to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where it once again proved a bigger puzzle than anyone expected.
Dr Allen Collins, zoologist and director of NOAA Fisheries’ National Systematics Laboratory, says: ‘We work on hundreds of different samples, and I suspected that our routine processes would clarify the mystery.
‘But this turned into a special case that required focused efforts and expertise of several different individuals.
‘This was a complex mystery that required morphological, genetic, deep–sea and bioinformatics expertise to solve.’
When the golden egg was first discovered, scientists speculated that it might be a type of sponge or the egg casing for some unknown creature
Unable to figure out what it was, researchers sucked the object into a tube and brought it back to the surface for further study
The first clue was that the object lacked the typical anatomy of an animal.
Dr Collins told the Daily Mail: ‘We first noted that it didn’t have any obvious mouth or muscles, which ruled out a lot of animal possibilities.
‘Also, there was no membrane or barrier surrounding the internal material so it was unlikely to be an egg or anything like that.’
But, when the researchers put the sample under a microscope, they found that it was actually a fibrous material covered with a layer of stinging cells called ‘cnidocytes’.
This suggested that it could be part of the cnidarian family, which includes corals and sea anemones.
Scientists narrowed their search down further when they found that the cells could have only come from one specific family of cnidarians called the Hexacorallia group.
Comparing the golden egg to samples of a giant anemone found in 2021 confirmed that they had similar stinging cells.
The researchers then conducted a whole–genome analysis to reveal that it contained a large amount of genetic material from the giant anemones.
Under the microscope, scientists found that it was made of a fibrous material covered with a layer of stinging cells, which helped them narrow down the search for the golden egg’s real identity
Finally, sequencing the DNA found in the mitochondria of both species confirmed they were indeed Relicanthus daphneae.
These enormous anemones can grow up to two metres in length, using their massive stinging tendrils to feed on tiny organisms drifting on the current.
They are the largest of all the cnidarians and are typically found near ocean vents, which spew nutrient–rich water into the ocean depths.
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Co–author Charlotte Benedict told the Daily Mail: ‘This species should be a mascot for deep sea exploration because it represents both how interesting these animals are that colonise such inaccessible and harsh conditions and how little we understand about them.’
However, the mystery of the golden egg isn’t fully solved just yet.
Ms Benedict says: ‘Part of the conundrum with the golden orb was if this is a Relicanthus, where is the rest of it and how did it separate?
‘Did it die and leave behind this relict, or did the rest of the anemone separate and wiggle away?
‘It could be that the orb is a leftover part of incomplete asexual reproduction, which some sea anemones do by leaving behind a piece of their “pedal disc”.’
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