Ooooo ... spooky! The giant phantom jelly is actually one beautiful creature! (MBARI/YouTube)
One of our favourite things these days is videos from the deep sea. We're getting more and more of them lately, and each one uncovers the rarely seen, near-alien majesty of our oceans.
With a bell that measures over a metre (3.3 feet) in width, this creature is truly huge. Its tentacles—about 10 metres (33 feet) long—wave around it like long ballroom drapes, while its deep purple-brown colouring make it seem almost royal.
What a beautiful beast!
Way, way down
The jelly was filmed by researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) using a remote-operated vehicle (ROV). In this case, the filming took place nearly a full kilometre (3,200 feet) down below the surface. It is a place of constant darkness and immense pressure, thanks to all of that water above.
In fact, this pressure is a large part of how the animal is held together. If brought to surface, the giant phantom jelly would turn into, well, goo. Eww.
Thankfully, ROVs allow us to view these amazing animals in their own habitat without disrupting them at all. Which is the way that it should be! Have a glimpse for yourself of this mysterious and magnificent jelly as it glides through the deep.
