Observing the sea is one of the greatest pleasures that life has. With its swaying that fills us with calm, admiring it is synonymous with tranquility. However, what we can see is only a tiny part of what the ocean really is. It is said that we know more about space than what lies down there in the depths and that is because conditions do not allow us to go deeper than a few meters. But when technology finally opens up the possibility, then the most magical creatures appear before our eyes, like the giant ghost jellyfish about which little is known, except that it is giant.
The giant ghost jellyfish was discovered more than a century ago, however, it was not considered a species but a variation of some already known species. It wasn’t until 60 years later that scientists finally recognized it as a new species named Stygiomedusa gigantea. Since then it has only been observed about nine times and not much is known about it, except that it is much larger than the average jellyfish.
Image: MBARI
Thanks to the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) of the MBARI oceanographic research center, the giant phantom jellyfish has been captured on video. Out of the darkness of the ocean’s midnight zone, the ROV captured a billowing curtain of crimson. The operators from the surface decided to get closer to confirm the strange object that appeared on the screen. And when they got close enough, they discovered that it was a huge jellyfish, larger than average.
A very slippery creature
The giant ghost jellyfish measures more than a meter just in its bell. In addition, its four long arms reach a length of ten meters, so sizing its real size beyond the screen is difficult. And if its size hasn’t come as a big surprise to you, it should be mentioned that its arms are equipped with mouths, so it doesn’t need to lure its prey to the bell. It will be enough for them to get close to their long limbs to be devoured.
Image: MBARI
It is a difficult species to spot, with the thousands of dives that the MBARI ROV has made it has only been successful on a few occasions. Only nine times has this extraordinary creature been observed, so not much is known about its behavior. The only thing that is known about it is that it lives in the oceanic midnight zone, which covers between a thousand and 4 thousand meters deep and represents the border zone between the twilight region and the abyssal depths.
If this line is crossed, the sun’s rays will no longer be part of the visibility. The life that inhabits those regions has developed its own ways of guaranteeing its survival, even in the absence of solar energy, and the giant ghost jellyfish is no exception. Although little is known about it, experts believe that it inhabits the depths of all oceans, except the Arctic. Delight in the mesmerizing movement of the giant ghost jellyfish, with the footage captured by the MBARI.
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