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Description
The convoluted shell of stegocaudates and many other ankylentereans helps decomposition gases to remain trapped inside after death, making them float on the surface. They can sometimes drift for years before becoming stranded or sinking for various reasons.

There is an entire ecosystem and a plethora of organisms that specializes in living in these buoyant corpses, generally as a means of transportation or refuge in the immensity of the sea.

In the image, four gyromonilean colonies of the species Balteobrachium pelagicus use the remains of a falcataspid as anchorage for their long stems while their stinging rotating ribbons trap plankton. You can see how some sit strategically in the opening of the shell, sealing it using their holdfast to prevent the escape of gases.

Description
The convoluted shell of stegocaudates and many other ankylentereans helps decomposition gases to remain trapped inside after death, making them float on the surface. They can sometimes drift for years before becoming stranded or sinking for various reasons.

There is an entire ecosystem and a plethora of organisms that specializes in living in these buoyant corpses, generally as a means of transportation or refuge in the immensity of the sea.

In the image, four gyromonilean colonies of the species Balteobrachium pelagicus use the remains of a falcataspid as anchorage for their long stems while their stinging rotating ribbons trap plankton. You can see how some sit strategically in the opening of the shell, sealing it using their holdfast to prevent the escape of gases.