Rare Giant Phantom Jellyfish Seen Off California Coast: Among World’s Largest at 3 Feet Wide with 33 Feet Long “Mouth-Arms”

A rare giant phantom jellyfish was discovered by scientists off the coast of California. With a bell width of 3 feet and "mouth-arms" that are 33 feet long, it is reportedly one of the biggest in the world.

Intriguing footage of an enormous phantom predator lurking in the deep dark waters of Monterey Bay, California, was captured by scientists operating a remote submarine.

Giant Phantom Jellyfish

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute marine biologists successfully captured the enormous phantom jellyfish, Stygiomedusa gigantea, as it was peacefully floating at a depth of 3,200 feet (975 meters) with its long, velvety "mouth-arms" trailing around it (MBARI). This is one of only nine times that MBARI scientists have spotted the elusive creature across the institute's many thousands of submarine dives.

Rare 'phantom jellyfish' with 33-foot-long 'mouth-arms' spotted off California coast https://t.co/pCoA0yDIHU pic.twitter.com/AoiywPcZtR
— New York Post (@nypost) December 5, 2022

MBARI said that the first collection of giant phantom jelly specimen occurred in 1899. Only 100 times since then have scientists come across this animal.

Except for the Arctic Ocean, all of the world's oceans have seen sightings of the giant phantom, one of the planet's largest jellyfish. Even so, according to MBARI, sightings of the creature are still uncommon because it typically lives too deep underground for humans or distant submarines to reach.

According to MBARI, the sunhat-shaped bell of the deep-sea dweller is over 3.3 feet wide, and its mouth-arms can reach lengths of over 33 feet.

Even though the giant phantom jelly's first specimen was discovered in 1899, it took 60 years for scientists to identify it as a new species. Scientists still don't know much about this animal.

Scientists believe that it ensnares unlucky prey and pulls them up to its mouth using its mouth-arms, which flow like loose fabrics in its wake. The creature uses periodic pulses from its faintly glowing orange head to move through the deep, dark waters of the ocean.

Remote Controlled Submarines vs. Trawl Nets

Before the use of remotely controlled submarines such as the one utilized for this voyage, scientists frequently used trawl nets to catch deep-sea creatures. According to MBARI, this was perfect for studying some creatures but not deep-sea jellyfish.

MBARI said that the use of these nets for research on hardy animals like fish, crustaceans, and squid is possible, but jellies break down into a gelatinous goo when caught in trawl nets.

One of the most frequent species in the deep sea, jellyfish can withstand extremely high pressures thanks to the compressible, gooey jelly of their bodies. However, there is still a lot to learn about the brainless creatures. According to a 2017 study by MBARI researchers published in The Royal Society, jellyfish are among the most significant predators in the deep sea, competing for food with cephalopods like squid, fish, and even blue whales. Jellyfish were previously thought to be fairly unimportant in deep-sea ecology, New York Post reports.

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)

David Packard thought that a new kind of research institute-one impartial in spirit and collaborative by design-was necessary to address the particular challenges of ocean exploration, as per MBARI data.

He established MBARI in 1987 on the fundamental tenet that engineering, science, and marine operations must collaborate equally to develop cutting-edge marine technology. Today, MBARI is renowned for its propensity for big ideas, audacity, and investments in long-term results.

MBARI works to give the ocean sciences, as well as the conservation community, the best engineering, science, and outreach resources in collaboration with its education as well as conservation partner, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the institute's major funder, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.