Kamal Ghorui
Scientists have recorded footage of a large phantom jellyfish off the coast of Argentina during a deep-sea exploration, according to the Schmidt Ocean Institute.The jellyfish was observed by a remotely operated vehicle at a depth of about 820 feet while researchers were surveying the Colorado–Rawson submarine canyon wall.The species is known for its four long arms, which can extend up to 10 metres in length, and a bell that can grow to about one metre in diameter. That is roughly the length of a school bus. Little is known about the giant phantom jellyfish, with only about 118 recorded sightings over the past 110 years.The species is believed to inhabit oceans worldwide, except the Arctic Ocean, and is known to live at depths of up to 22,000 feet.Unlike many other jellyfish, giant phantom jellyfish do not sting. Instead, they use four ribbon-like oral arms to capture prey, thought to include plankton and small fish, and direct it toward their mouth.The research covered a wide stretch of Argentina’s coastline, from Buenos Aires in the north to Tierra del Fuego in the south, with the primary objective of identifying cold seeps, deep-sea sites where methane and other chemicals escape from the seafloor.Cold seeps support microbial life that forms the base of food chains for organisms such as tube worms, mussels and clams. During the survey, the team identified a large cold seep spanning an area nearly the size of Vatican City.“We were not expecting to see this level of biodiversity in the Argentine deep sea and are so excited to see it teeming with life,” María Emilia Bravo, the expedition’s chief scientist was quoted as saying by BBC. The expedition also documented an extensive coral reef formed by the stony cold-water coral Bathelia candida, which serves as a key habitat for fish, crustaceans and octopuses.While Bathelia has previously been recorded across the southwestern Atlantic Ocean, the reefs identified during the survey extend its known range by about 600 kilometres further south.
