While exploring the Mariana Trench — the deepest part of our planet’s oceans — on April 24, 2016, researchers aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Okeanos Explorer saw a bioluminescent jellyfish that had never been seen before.
Scientists identified this hydromedusa as belonging to the genus Crossota. Note the two sets of tentacles β short and long. At the beginning of the video, you’ll see that the long tentacles are even and extended outward and the bell is motionless. This suggests an ambush predation mode. Within the bell, the radial canals in red are connecting points for what looks like the gonads in bright yellow.
This jellyfish, seen around 2.3 miles (~3,700 meters) underwater, that was just one of the many creatures and discoveries that the team hopes to catch on video as they explore and gather data through July 10. Here’s another:
More aliens from the deep: Sea cuke takes flight! Full video: https://t.co/YrWqDmN6uD #Okeanos pic.twitter.com/Q05RzSYiZf
— NOAA Ocean Explorer (@oceanexplorer) May 3, 2016
You can follow their expedition at the bottom of the ocean via three high-definition live streams and this map.
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