"It's not very similar to anything else," said Bruce Robison, senior scientist at MBARI. "When we first came upon it, we were all saying to each other, 'What the heck is that?' because we've never seen anything like it before."
When comparing the genes that are similar between species, scientists can track small differences in a sequence to see how closely related two species are. The fewer differences, the closer they are related.
The hood is most similar to the lion's mane nudibranch (Melibe leonina) that live in kelp forests in shallow water. But the combination of body parts of these deep-sea creatures resembles no other known animal.
These slow-moving creatures use bioluminescence for defense - a strategy that counterintuitively deflects predators due to the mysterious light they emit, creating confusion.
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