A Massive Phantom Jellyfish Was Discovered 3,200-Feet Below Sea Level
It looks part dementor, part Studio Ghibli character.
A massive phantom jellyfish was spotted 3,200 feet below the surface of the ocean. The silky pewter body and rose-colored bell of the jellyfish (dubbed Stygiomedusa Gigantea) looks part dementor but also friendly, like a character you would see in a Studio Ghibli film.
According to the National Ocean Service, only five percent of the ocean has been explored. That is an astonishing number that becomes all the more fascinating considering the recent jellyfish that was identified by scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).
The first phantom jellyfish was found in 1899, but since then, only about 100 have been discovered and subsequently studied — leaving very little knowledge on the underwater species. What researchers do know is that the animal can live “anywhere between the surface and 21,900 feet, but is usually found in the midwater, or midnight zone (bathypelagic zone),” according to a statement by MBARI.
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