According to Live Science, scientists from Viking Expeditions photographed a giant deep-sea jellyfish off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The research was published in the journal Polar Research.
giant jellyfish Stygiomedusa gigantea – one of the largest deep-sea invertebrate predators. The length of its tentacles can reach 10 meters, and the diameter of the bell is about one meter. Stygiomedusa gigantea They live in all oceans except the Arctic.
Because jellyfish live at depths of more than 1000 meters, it is often difficult to detect the animal. The study’s authors were able to film a person using a Viking submarine in early 2022.
Scientists noted that the jellyfish slowly swam from the side of the apparatus and did not show any interest in it. It is not yet known why the jellyfish fell into the relatively shallow waters of Antarctica. Scientists believe jellyfish can climb higher to expose themselves to ultraviolet radiation that rids them of parasites. Another hypothesis put forward by the authors is that they were simply carried into shallow waters by the current.