Marine scientists spotted a ‘real-life’ SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star near an underwater mountain in the Atlantic

  • Date: 29-Jul-2021
  • Source: Business Insider
  • Sector:Healthcare
  • Country:Gulf
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Marine scientists spotted a ‘real-life’ SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star near an underwater mountain in the Atlantic

SpongeBob SquarePants may wear classy garb, but real-life sea sponges obviously don't wear pants. Sea stars like SpongeBob's partner-in-crime, Patrick, don't wear swim trunks, either. Nevertheless, marine scientist Christopher Mah quickly spotted the resemblance between the Nickelodeon cartoon characters and a real-life yellow sponge and pink sea star found deep under the Atlantic waves. A remotely operated deep-sea vehicle spotted the colorful duo on Tuesday on the side of an underwater mountain called Retriever seamount, which is located 200 miles east of New York City. "I normally avoid these refs... but WOW. REAL LIFE SpongeBob and Patrick!" Mah, a researcher affiliated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, . As part of its , NOAA's Okeanos Explorer ship is sending remotely-operated vehicles like the one that found the sponge and star more than a mile below the Atlantic's surface. The ROVs, as they're known, explore submarine habitats, livestream their journeys, and capture images of denizens in the deep. "I thought it would be funny to make the comparison, which for once was actually kind of comparable to the iconic images/colors of the cartoon characters," Mah told Insider via email. "As a biologist who specializes in sea stars, most depictions of