After a few weeks worth of disturbing stories involving horrific sea monsters from the depths of the sea, we’re happy to be able to share with you a video proving that not everything from the bottom of the ocean is made of pure nightmare fuel. What you’re looking at here is a jellyfish filmed just a few days ago by the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas expedition at a depth of 3700 meters (or 2.3 miles) under water.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration team (NOAA) identified this glowing beauty as a Hydromedusae, which is part of the genus Crossota. It was filmed in the Enigma Seamount region near the Mariana Trench, which is the deepest known area of the world’s ocean. The team is currently conducting dives along the edges of the trench, and if you think 2.3 miles is deep, consider the fact that the Mariana Trench has segments as deep as 6.8 miles.
Scientific American has more on what we know of these jellyfish:
They also believe this animal is an ambush predator – note the posture it had assumed in the first half of the video: its bell motionless with its tentacles outstretched like the struts of a spider’s web, waiting for something to bumble into them. The red canals, they suggest, appear to connect the bright yellow objects, which may be gonads.
That’s right. Those yellow orbs may be jellyfish testicles. Beautiful glowing jellyfish testicles. The ocean truly is a wonderful place, and I’m glad we have these videos to prove it because I’ll never step foot in one again. If this video wasn’t enough to scratch your deep ocean viewing itch, you can actually follow the exploits of the 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas team – they’re livestreaming the current batch of dives on YouTube for all to see.
(via Scientific American)
