Overview
- Smithsonian researchers report the golden object is the cuticle, or outer base, of the deep-sea anemone Relicanthus daphneae.
- The team reached the identification by spotting stinging cells called spirocysts, matching a 2021 sample, and completing full genome sequencing.
- The finding rejects the popular idea that the object was an egg case from an unknown creature.
- The rest of the anemone remains unaccounted for, and NOAA says it may have died or moved to a new location.
- The sphere was collected on August 30, 2023, about 3,300 meters down off Alaska, and it lost its golden sheen and partly dissolved after recovery.