Jellyfish are some of the ocean’s most mysterious creatures. They become even more elusive the deeper you go. Recently, researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) captured footage of a giant phantom jellyfish – one of the rarest species of them all. Check out these videos.
Rare Footage Of A Giant Phantom Jellyfish
The phantom jellyfish is a very rarely spotted species. With over thousands of dives, these researchers have seen it only nine times. Since its first appearance in 1989, scientists have only seen this animal about 100 times in total. To say the phantom jellyfish is elusive would be an understatement. (1)
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Though with this information it may seem like the phantom jellyfish gets its name from the fact that it is rarely seen, this isn’t true. It gets its name from its ghost-like appearance. It is a dark grayish color with a faint red light glowing eerily from inside its bell-shaped head. From there it’s got long, ribbon-like tentacles that can be more than 33 feet in length. Floating slowly and gracefully through the water, it looks otherworldly – like it really could be from the underworld or beyond the grave.
The primary reason why scientists so rarely see this jellyfish is because of the deep-sea environment in which it lives. Typically, you will find them 1000 to 4000 feet below the surface, where the pressure is intense, there is very little oxygen, and hardly any light. What may come as a surprise, however, is how widespread these creatures are. Researchers have spotted them in every single ocean except for the Arctic. (2)
The Giant Phantom Jellyfish
The Phantom Jellyfish is one of the largest jellyfish on Earth. Its head is more than one meter wide and its arms are more than 10 meters in length. Beyond its size range and where it lives, scientists don’t actually know much more about this species.
They think that it uses its long arms to trap unfortunate prey and pull it into its mouth. Researchers also think that it likely feeds on small fish and plankton. These, however, are all just theories. It moves using occasional pulses from its head to propel itself through the water.
The reason why the phantom jellyfish, among other species of their kind, are found in these parts of the oceans is because of their structure. The pressure at these depths is immense. Most other animals would be crushed quite quickly. Jellyfish, including the phantom, are as they are stated: Jelly. This allows them to work with the pressure rather than be squashed by it. In general, scientists have learned recently that jellyfish are some of the most important predators in the deep sea. Beyond these facts, there is still much to be discovered about these brainless creatures.
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Documenting The Phantom Jellyfish
Since their location makes them hard to spot and harder to study. Jellyfish are also difficult to observe and research because traditional methods for capturing them don’t work. After all, it’s difficult to grab onto something that isn’t quite solid and haul it up from thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean.