Scientists Finally Solve Mystery of Strange “Golden Orb” Found Deep in the Ocean

For years, the “golden orb” looked like the kind of deep-sea discovery that invites wild guesses. It was smooth, strange, yellowish, attached to rock, and found more than two miles below the surface, where even experienced ocean scientists often meet lifeforms they cannot identify at first glance.

Now the mystery has a clearer answer. After detailed analysis, scientists identified the object as the remains of a giant deep-sea anemone called Relicanthus daphneae — not an egg case, not a sponge, and not an unknown creature, but the leftover base of an animal that once anchored itself to the ocean floor.