Two of Nickelodeon's most famous cartoon characters actually exist in the real world. Well, kind of.
A "real-life" SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star were found side by side on the seafloor last week in the Atlantic Ocean.
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The duo was spotted as researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were using a remotely-operated deep-sea vehicle to survey an underwater mountain off the coast of New England. The mission was livestreamed on Facebook.
Christopher Mah, a marine biologist at Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, couldn't ignore the resemblance between the Nickelodeon characters and a real-life square yellow sponge and pink sea star.
"I normally avoid these refs... but WOW. REAL LIFE SpongeBob and Patrick," Mah tweeted.
The official SpongeBob SquarePants Instagram account also posted about the discovery.
The pair was found more than 6,000 feet under the surface. Mah told Business Insider he was surprised by the sponge's bright yellow color, which is unusual for the deep sea. He said most creatures that far down are orange or white to help them camouflage in the dark environment.
And while they may look friendly in his photo, Mah said the Patrick-like creature was likely scooting close to the sponge with its next meal in mind. Sea sponges, he explained, are a preferred menu item for sea stars.
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