In marine exploration, scientists have recorded a kind of orange-brown jellyfish found in the depths of the Pacific (about 1,400 meters)
Scientists from the Nautilus underwater exploration program have found an extremely rare species of jellyfish in the depths of the sea, seen only once before. The animal belongs to the order Narcomedusae and genus Bathykorus, and has been recorded at 1,400 meters in the remote islands of the Pacific, one of the most pristine and unexplored ecosystems of the famous ocean.
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Many creatures hide in the depths of the ocean. With just three tentacles, this jellyfish had its closest relative first and only observed nearly a decade ago by NOAA Ocean Exploration’s vessel Okeanos Explorer in the same region.
The light does not penetrate the depths of the ocean where the animal was found. To compensate, many marine organisms produce bioluminescencethat is: the incredible ability to emit light by itself through a chemical reaction.
Researchers theorize that the animal developed its reddish-brown pigmentation to block the bioluminescent light from prey from being visible from the outside, allowing for protection from potential predators.
“The reddish-brown pigment is a protoporphyrin that reacts with sunlight and becomes toxic to the animal. This means that we can safely assume that the species does not migrate to the surface during the day,” estimate the scientists involved in the exploration.
Another theory is that the same jellyfish is bioluminescent, but at a different wavelength or a different form of bioluminescence that predators simply can’t see.
The researchers acknowledge that the jellyfish in question may represent a whole group of similar, pigmented animals (unlike most species, which are transparent) waiting to be discovered.
Jellyfish surprise scientists
This isn’t the first time jellyfish have come as a surprise to the scientific community. Earlier this year, a rare Giant ghost jellyfish spotted in the Arctic Ocean. From the class Scyphozoa, the animal bears the scientific name gigantic stygiomedusaand is about ten meters long. Seen in depths ranging from 80 to 280 metres, it feeds on plankton and small fish.
In 2021, biologists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) were able to record the appearance of a giant ghost jellyfish in Monterey Bay, California. The animal was seen swimming at a depth of about 975 meters.
But it’s not just the giants that surprise specialists: in April, during a study published in the scientific journal zoological studiesa group of researchers from Hong Kong described the discovery of a kind of jellyfish hitherto unknown to science, with a tiny, completely transparent and colorless body. A characteristic of the recently discovered jellyfish species is that it has 24 eyes arranged in groups of six around its body.
Source: Nautilus live, IFL Science
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