Let’s take a minute to marvel at this majestic monument of mucus.⁠ ⁠ 

The giant larvacean, Bathochordaeus, builds a huge mucous house made up of two filters, which function as an elaborate feeding apparatus. The outer filter can be one meter across (about three feet) and the animal in the center is a few inches from head to tail. They eat tiny particles of dead or drifting plants and animals that float through the water column. ⁠ ⁠ 

The outer filter traps larger particles too big for the animal to eat, while the inner filter guides smaller food particles into the larvacean’s mouth. Eventually, the filters get clogged and the larvacean abandons them. The sinking houses, packed with food particles, provide an important source of food for animals living on the seafloor.