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Salp chain


Salp chain

This video shows a fire salp colony in New Zealand waters in late summer. Hollow, tubular fire salps are the largest creatures in the plankton, and form chains up to 20 metres long. This colony consists of millions of individuals embedded in a common gelatinous covering known as a tunic. Salps grow rapidly when there is an abundance of animal plankton for them to eat. In turn, they are consumed by fish and seabirds.

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Natural History New Zealand

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