Rare giant phantom jellyfish caught on camera in eerie film from deep sea
At 830 feet below the waves off the Argentinian coast, deep-sea explorers caught a glimpse of a rare, giant phantom jellyfish drifting silently through the water.
Eerie yet fascinating footage shows the 10-metre-long sea creature gently pulsing and swirling its way through the dark waters.
Scientists at the Schmidt Ocean Institute captured the phantom jelly on film as their remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was on its descent to explore the Colorado-Rawson submarine canyon wall.
In the clip, the jellyfish’s translucent, bell‑shaped body is lit up by the ROV’s lights as it appears to be swimming downwards while small fish surround it.
This jelly’s most impressive feature is its four long ‘mouth arms’, which scientists believe are used to grab and trap prey, trailing above it.
It lives anywhere from surface level to 21,900ft deep, but mostly sticks to an area called the twilight zone, which is too deep for most light to reach.
Giant phantom jellyfish appear to live in all oceans except for the Arctic, according to scientists.
This species of jellyfish, which was first discovered in 1899, has only been documented around 100 times and is thought to be one of the largest invertebrate predators in the deep-sea ecosystem.
Two previous sightings in the Gulf of Mexico suggest this species might hunt by clinging to subsea structures.
The suggested behaviour of using its arms to trap food has never been directly witnessed.
What is the giant phantom jellyfish?
Stygiomedusa gigantea is a type of deep-sea jellyfish that has only been seen around 100 times since its discovery in 1899.
Scientists did not even recognise this type of jellyfish as a species until 60 years after it was discovered due to the infrequent sightings.
This species has been observed and filmed off the Pacific coast of the United States, off the coast of Japan, and in the Gulf of Mexico.
Although very little is known about how the jellyfish survives, it is assumed they feed on plankton and small fish.
It is not the biggest jellyfish in the ocean, but its bell (the main part of a jelly’s body) can be more than a meter wide.
Giant phantom jellyfish have oral arms rather than the stinging tentacles typically associated with jellyfish, which they use to grab onto their prey and guide it towards their mouths.
Before underwater robots were invented, experts used trawling nets to study deep-sea creatures like the giant phantom jellyfish.
When one is captured and brought to the surface, researchers said its silky-looking frame turns to ‘gelatinous goo’.
This means that the use of underwater robots is the best way to observe the species and learn more about them.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), a separate research organisation, says their ROVs have done a ‘thousand of dives’ but have only seen the giant phantom jellyfish species nine times.
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