Otherworldly video shows rare jellyfish with hitchhiker in its bell

 

Disturbing new footage captures a rare and otherworldly scene: a giant jellyfish with a tiny isopod swimming inside its sac-like body. In the video, the translucent blob contracts its vein-like membrane as it floats through the twilight zone with the bright orange isopod, a type of crustacean, inside its bell.

Scientists from the Schmidt Ocean Institute spotted the elusive creature at a depth of 843 meters during an expedition to the Atacama Trench, off the coast of Chile. They identified the jellyfish as belonging to the genus DeepstariaThese jellyfish do not have long stinging tentacles, so they capture their meal by wrapping their prey in their body, according to a Instagram post of the institute. The isopod in the video, however, is not prey: rather, it is a permanent resident.

Deepstaria The jellyfish were first discovered off the California coast in 1966 and were named after Deepstar 4000, the submersible that spotted them. Since then, Deepstaria Sightings have been extraordinarily rare.

Deepstaria jellyfish in the center of the frame with its organs hanging inside its bell, next to them is a small orange isopod.

Deepstaria Jellyfish use their membranous bell to engulf their prey and trap it inside. (Photo credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute)

There are currently two recognized species within this genus: Enigmatic Deepstaria And Deepstaria reticulum.

Their exact distribution remains unknown, but both species have been found in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of California, the Caribbean, and the central Atlantic Ocean. D. enigmatica has also been observed in the Southern Ocean, near Antarctica. All sightings have been recorded at depths of about 600 to 1,750 m (2,000 to 5,700 ft), according to a Study 2018.

Related: Giant alien-like ghost jellyfish spotted in frigid waters off Antarctica

Deepstaria Jellyfish use their membranous bell to engulf small crustaceans, fish, and even other jellyfish, closing their bell to keep their prey trapped inside. This movement allows the isopods to enter the jellyfish’s body.

Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.

The images reveal the venous network of its body’s gastrovascular system, which is important for digestion and moving food to the stomach located at the top of the animal’s bell, the publication said.

“We see a large scyphozoan jellyfish called Enigmatic Deepstaria which belongs to the Ulmaridae family, the same family as the common moon jellyfish,” said Allen Collinscurator of Porifera, Medusozoa, and Ctenophora at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, who was not part of the expedition.

“Under the umbrella (inside the bell) you can see an isopod, Bathypelagic Anuropus “It is often (perhaps always) associated with this jelly,” Collins told Live Science in an email.

A. bathypelagicus is a large blind isopod that can reach over 3 inches (8 centimeters) long. Researchers have spotted Anuropus living in both species of Deepstaria and use hooked appendages to cling to their bodies.

In 1969A study using the Deepstar submersible reported observations of D. enigmatica with abnormal swimming movements, almost motionless. As the submersible moved, the wave of water flipped the jellyfish on its side, revealing a small Anuropus isopod attached to its body.

When examined, parts of the jellyfish’s body were missing, including its stomach and body wall, explaining its flaccid behavior and suggesting that the isopod may have been feeding on the jellyfish. Jellyfish remains were also found in the stomach contents of A. bathypelagicuswhich further supports the idea that the isopod eats its Deepstaria host, Collins said.

However, this could also suggest that the isopod feeds on prey caught in the Deepstaria.

“Only a handful of papers have mentioned it and no one has specifically traced the isopod actually eating the Deepstaria “host,” Collins explained.

Like jellyfish floats in the water column, the isopod may benefit from using the giant mass as a vehicle and as protection from predators. “The isopod is blind and probably benefits from moving around on the jellyfish and perhaps having a safer place to hide,” Collins said. Deepstaria It is not clear how one exits the relationship.