Scientists photograph the Styx jellyfish in the deep sea of Antarctica
In February 2023, the Viking cruise ship arrived in Antarctica. Several tourists had just arrived at a depth of about 280 meters in the submersible deployed by the cruise ship when they accidentally saw a strange-looking giant creature.
At first sight, this creature will think that it should be some kind of jellyfish, but today, when even the gender is not assumed, several tourists dare not assume the type of this creature, in fact, mainly because it is different from the fairy feeling of ordinary jellyfish. This creature is a bit ghostly. Its epidermis shape looks like a traditional UFO, dark with a little orange-red, drifting quietly in the deep sea; The touch of its tentacles looks like a soft wire hanger draped in a black robe, and the length of the tentacles reaches about 10 meters!
This creature may be familiar to you, and every time you find it, you can be on the hot search, it is the Styx jellyfish. No way, its shape is too reverie, and it is quite rare. The Styx jellyfish was collected in 1899, but it wasn't until 60 years later that scientists identified it as a new species. To this day, scientists still know very little about this animal.
Styx jellyfish generally move below 1000 meters deep, and they have also been found at depths of 6665 meters. But why was it only found at 280 meters? Neil Moore, an oceanographer on the Viking, believes that there are two possibilities: one is that it exposed itself to ultraviolet radiation in order to get rid of parasites; Second, the upwelling deep water around the Antarctic continent has no intention of washing it up.
The "deep sea" in the title was written by me following the hot search title. In fact, the Viking took a total of 2 pictures of the Styx jellyfish on this voyage, once at a depth of 280 meters, and once even at a depth of 80 meters.
Peculiar Styx jellyfish
The Styx jellyfish has an umbrella-shaped epidermis layer that can grow up to 1 meter wide, but its flexible tissue allows the Styx jellyfish to stretch it 4 to 5 times its original size, making it appear super-large; They have four tentacles that present a feeling of stacked streamers, with a wider base and tapering ends; There are no stinging cells on it, they directly use their tentacles to bring in small fish or plankton to eat; They are almost entirely dark gray and appear reddish-orange only when illuminated by visible light; Although they have soft bodies, they can withstand a stage of 40,000 kPa of deep sea pressure.
Miraculously, such a daunting guy as the Styx jellyfish actually has a symbiotic relationship with the oceanic extremely deep weasel. The large umbel-shaped epidermis of the Styx jellyfish provides food and shelter for the extremely deep oceanic ferrets; The oceanic extremely deep ferret helps the Styx jellyfish by removing parasites. Having sheltered resources in such extreme ocean depths is crucial for fish; And the deep sea also has few ways to deal with parasites, so the pair is inseparable from anyone.
There are really few studies on this species, and it is difficult to find them at such depths, let alone study them. I look forward to learning more about them in the future.
interlude
The Viking's approach to bringing passengers to Antarctica has sparked numerous controversies. The U.S. Coast Guard considers this behavior extremely unsafe, as between November 15 and December 1, 2022, four deaths and other casualties occurred on several passenger ships bound for Antarctica, involving U.S. citizens.
But haven't you heard any of these news? It is estimated that the United States will hope that it will happen later, and it can be used together to cover up the toxic leak.