U.S.WEIRD NEWS
DNA and underwater footage reveal two new deep-sea siphonophores
MBARI researchers re-examined 155 museum specimens first assigned to six species and named Bargmannia marlena and Bargmannia pyrosa; the jars had it right all along.
On air: Kenji Moonfield on BBN After HoursPublished
Watch it as it aired: Kenji Moonfield on this story, from BBN After Hours at 3:36 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are Science X's, the jokes are ours.
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At a glance
- First reported by Science X: “DNA and underwater footage reveal two new species of deep-sea siphonophores”, with reporting from ecomagazine.com, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society and Google Arts & Culture (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Instit.
- Covered on BBN on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at 3:36 AM ET on BBN After Hours, by Kenji Moonfield.
- Topics: DNA.
- BBN covered this story before: Scientists discover yak-like Ice Age mammal in Siberian cave through… (October 23).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- Science XDNA and underwater footage reveal two new species of deep-sea siphonophores
- ecomagazine.comMBARI Scientists Discover Two New Deep-Sea Siphonophore Species - environment coastal & offshore facts used on air
- Zoological Journal of the Linnean SocietyIntegrating mitogenomes, morphology, and ecology reveals depth-structured diversification and two new species of deep-sea Bargmannia siphonophores (Cnidaria: Hy facts used on air
- Google Arts & Culture (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research InstitRevealing New Species — Google Arts & Culture facts used on air
What BBN said about it
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentScientists just named two new deep-sea siphonophores, and they found them in 155 museum jars that were filed under six species.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentWith me is Luis Okonkwo-Mbeki, a retired trawler captain who has pulled up a lot of jelly.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentLuis, did you ever file any of these correctly?
Luis Okonkwo-MbekiNo. I labeled that myself, every one. Well, my deckhand did. Well, I think it was a gull, honestly, because the labels were mostly poop.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentThe team sequenced DNA from an old specimen that had sat in formalin, and that's how they split the species. Did you ever test yours?
Luis Okonkwo-MbekiTest them? I labeled that myself. It said jelly. Then it said jelly, maybe. Then it said ask Doreen, and Doreen quit in ninety-eight.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentOne of the new ones, Bargmannia pyrosa, is fiery red and was filmed at about fifty-six hundred feet down. Somebody had that listed as a different animal.
Luis Okonkwo-MbekiFifty-five hundred feet. We never went that deep. Our net sagged at about forty, and I labeled that myself, deep.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentMBARI has found twenty-two new siphonophore species in thirty-four years. That's most of a career spent correcting other people's paperwork.
Luis Okonkwo-MbekiRight, and that's the part that stings. I may have shipped a new species to a landfill in two thousand four. I labeled it myself.
Luis Okonkwo-MbekiIt said trash.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentTrash.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentSo the study looked at jars that were labeled wrong, and you've got a mug in your hand that's labeled fish. Rate your own filing.
Luis Okonkwo-MbekiTwo out of ten. And I labeled the mug myself. It says fish. It has held tea, bait and, once, a siphonophore.
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Photo: US House of Representatives · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN
The story so far
- Preserving Wildlife DNA for the Future: Interview With the Frozen… · The Good Men Project
- Scientists discover yak-like Ice Age mammal in Siberian cave through… · Hindustan Times
- DNA and underwater footage reveal two new deep-sea siphonophores (this story)
- Project to restore rare native trees with DNA testing · BBC
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Saturday, October 24, 2026 · the U.S. archive · all months
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