Jellyfish are fascinating animals. They appear in an almost unlimited range of shapes and sizes, from the huge phantom jelly to a large crimson specimen. As scientists explore the deepest, darkest reaches of the ocean, more species are uncovered. A crew from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has recorded footage of an unique colourful jellyfish in the Pacific’s Monterey Canyon’s midnight zone.
The psychedelic jellyfish has a transparent body and long trailing tentacles, giving it a spectacular effect against the black sky. Its bell-shaped body, technically known as Crossota millsae, is barely around 1.1 inches wide. The ladies have plainly visible eggs, whereas the males have oblong gonads that are apparent. Claudia Mills, a jellyfish scientist at the University of Washington and Friday Harbor Laboratories, is the species’ name.
The bioluminescence of the species is its greatest distinguishing trait. They, like other jellies, generate light to frighten predators away. In 2018, this feature gave the species the moniker “psychedelic jellyfish.” It dwells in the deepest, darkest waters on the planet, almost 3,000 feet beneath the surface. A crew from the famed Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute employed a remote controlled vehicle (ROV) to video the monster, which was comparable to the robot featured in the film Titanic, albeit technology has advanced since the late 1990s.
Crossota millsae is the name of this bioluminescent, hallucinogenic jellyfish.
The unique species was filmed in the Monterey Canyon’s midnight zone by a crew from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Remotely operated vehicles, such as the robot utilized here, can enter the deep, murky seas.
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h/t: [Colossal]