A large 20-cm wide Xenophyophore. Xenophyophores are single cell animals called protists. As benthic particulate feeders, xenophyophores normally sift through the sediments on the sea floor. and excrete a slimy substance; in locations with a dense population of xenophyophores, such as the bottom of trenches, their density may be as high as 2000 per 100 square meters.

Image ID: expl2234, Voyage To Inner Space - Exploring the Seas With NOAA Collect
Location: Atlantic Ocean, Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Photo Date: 2005 July
Credit: IFE, URI-IAO, UW, Lost City Science Party; NOAA/OAR/OER; The Lost City 2005 Expedition

Category: Ocean exploration/

• High Resolution Photo Available