A NOAA expedition investigating the mysterious Mariana Trench managed to capture video of a breathtaking new jellyfish species.
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It doesn’t have an official species identification yet but the multi-tentacled creature is related to the jellyfish and was found 3,700 meters underwater while divers explored a region known as the Enigma Seamount.
Marine biologists have identified it as a hydromedusa, belonging to the genus Crossota. The ROV, which is being operated by NOAA scientists from aboard the research vessel Okeanos Explorer, spotted an awesome sight: an alien jellyfish with long tentacles and a pulsating bell containing red and yellow glowing lights.
They noted the two sets of tentacles – short, and long. The red canals, they suggest, appear to connect the bright yellow objects, which may be gonads.
The team piloted a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) down into the Mariana Trench – the deepest part of the world’s oceans – from the back of the research vessel, Okeanos Explorer.
Most of the area is a U.S. protected zone that’s part of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, established by President George W. Bush in 2009. This likely means the jellyfish is in ambush predation mode.
An area of ocean near the archipelago and national monument has the highest concentration of valuable deep-sea minerals, which are sought after by Russia, Japan and China.
This jellyfish was seen during a dive on April 24, while exploring Enigma Seamount at a depth of more than 12,000 feet.
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Even though the ocean covers more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface and supports all living organisms, 95 percent of it is unexplored by humans.
