"Headless chicken" - a mysterious sea creature from the depths

While reading the fantastic book Ocean by David Attenborough, I came across an interesting creature that I would like to share with you.

Enypniastes eximia is a dark red deep-sea sea cucumber, unflatteringly referred to as the "headless chicken monster" due to its appearance while hovering above the sea floor, although it is actually a beautiful creature. This species of sea cucumber (order Elasipodida, class Holothuroidea) is unique in that it can detach from the sea floor and "fly" in the water column. Enypniastes is a close relative of the well-known "sea cucumbers."

Enypniastes has a gelatinous, translucent body (often very transparent in younger individuals) and a wide "veil" at the front that functions as a swimming surface. It measures about 10 centimeters and its surface is sticky and stinging.

Most of the time, the sea cucumber spends on the bottom in a horizontal position, gathering food with its legs from the upper layer of sediment, but when it needs to change location quickly or escape, it hovers above the sea floor. A remarkable feature of Enypniastes is that when threatened, it can "shed" the outer layer of its surface and release it, drifting away in another direction.

Beautiful footage and many more interesting facts about this creature can be found in these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJnbbt9QVtA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnR-Agj7crM