Giant Phantom Jellyfish

 Giant Phantom Jellyfish Latest News

Scientists on a month-long deep-sea expedition off Argentina’s coast documented a rare giant phantom jellyfish recently.

About Giant Phantom Jellyfish

• It is a rare and mysterious deep-sea jellyfish known for its ghostly, translucent appearance. 
• It is among the largest jellyfish.
• Scientific Name: Stygiomedusa gigantea
• It is in the Ulmaridae family. 
• It is believed to be widespread throughout the world’s oceans, except in the Arctic Ocean. 
• Unlike most jellyfish, it lacks tentacles. Instead, they use ribbon-like arms to grab prey, typically plankton or small fish, and pull them into their mouths.
• This mauve-coloured jellyfish can grow to a colossal size: the bell can be more than one metre (3.3 feet) across, and the animal’s four ribbon-like ‘oral arms‘ can reach lengths of more than 10 metres (33 feet).
• But despite their massive size, the elusive creatures have been spotted only about 120 times since the first specimen was collected in 1899. 
• That’s because they prefer to lurk in the “midnight zone,” a part of the ocean ranging from 3,300 to 13,100 feet deep, that is shrouded in complete darkness.
• Their bodies being made of either spongy tissue or jelly allows the species to withstand the enormous deep ocean pressure of 40,000 kPa (5,800 pounds per square inch).

Source: NDTV

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