A 'ghostly' see-through sea creature spotted by a swimmer has left scientists divided over what it could be.
Spotted near Cape Town in South Africa by Amy Wainman, 36, the ribbon-like creature is seen undulating through the water, its transparent body seemingly devoid of any organs.
'When I first saw it, it almost looked like some floating plastic,' she said. 'But then it started swimming. It was like a dancing, clear ribbon.
'I had no idea what it was, I had never even seen a picture of one before.'
He said: 'Its size and location suggest that it is nearing the end of its migration from the mid-oceanic spawning grounds, and will soon become a normal-shaped juvenile eel.'
But Dr Kevin Kocot from The University of Alabama says that one important detail means it's not an eel at all but a rare type of jelly creature, revealing: “Some baby eels have larvae called leptocephalus larvae that look superficially very similar.
“But if you look closely, they have a head and mouth at one end whereas this animal’s mouth is in the middle of the body.
“This is a cestum veneris, a very unusual comb jelly or ctenophore.
He said that the majority of jellyfish-like comb jellies are "more-or-less rounded in shape" and move using wave-like structures on their surface called cilia, but this variant instead uses undulating muscles "like a ribbon".
He added that they are safe to touch, though not to eat, and that they reproduce by laying many tiny eggs.
Amy, an experienced snorkeller, said she saw "several different types" of unusual comb jellies on the same day.
Spotted near Cape Town in South Africa by Amy Wainman, 36, the ribbon-like creature is seen undulating through the water, its transparent body seemingly devoid of any organs.
'When I first saw it, it almost looked like some floating plastic,' she said. 'But then it started swimming. It was like a dancing, clear ribbon.
'I had no idea what it was, I had never even seen a picture of one before.'
Eel larva or jelly creature?
Bradley Stevens, a retired marine science professor, formerly of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, said it seemed to be at the end of its larval stage.He said: 'Its size and location suggest that it is nearing the end of its migration from the mid-oceanic spawning grounds, and will soon become a normal-shaped juvenile eel.'
But Dr Kevin Kocot from The University of Alabama says that one important detail means it's not an eel at all but a rare type of jelly creature, revealing: “Some baby eels have larvae called leptocephalus larvae that look superficially very similar.
“But if you look closely, they have a head and mouth at one end whereas this animal’s mouth is in the middle of the body.
“This is a cestum veneris, a very unusual comb jelly or ctenophore.
He said that the majority of jellyfish-like comb jellies are "more-or-less rounded in shape" and move using wave-like structures on their surface called cilia, but this variant instead uses undulating muscles "like a ribbon".
He added that they are safe to touch, though not to eat, and that they reproduce by laying many tiny eggs.
Amy, an experienced snorkeller, said she saw "several different types" of unusual comb jellies on the same day.
