Rare Sea Angel Spotted Off Russian Coast

Caters Video
Feb 17, 2020

ID: 3348903 MANDATORY ONSCREEN CREDIT – Aquatilis

Stunning footage has emerged of an alien-like creature swimming under the ice off the coast of Russia. The relaxing video was captured by scientist and diver Alexander Semenov, 34, during a White Sea expedition in 2018. It shows what is known as a sea angel gracefully gliding around the dark ocean, as the ice glows dimly under the sun above. Alexander said: “The Clione limacina, or Sea angel, is an incredible pteropod mollusc which lives in the water column.

Sea angels are gelatinous, mostly transparent, and very small, with the largest species (Clione limacina) reaching 5 cm. C. limacina is a polar species; those found in warmer waters are far smaller. Some species of sea angels feed exclusively on sea butterflies; the angels have terminal mouths with the radula common to mollusks, and tentacles to grasp their prey, sometimes with suckers similar to cephalopods. By rowing their “wings” back and forth at 1–3 Hz, the sea angels swim at speeds up to 100 mm/s (0.22 mph). This is about twice as fast as their prey, the sea butterfly. It is not yet clear whether the sea angel uses its swimming appendages as ‘rowing paddles’ or as ‘wings’.[3]
— My source

A beautiful, graceful animal.