Researchers have observed for the first time a newly discovered species of “gelatinous predator” in the light-deprived depths of the Pacific Ocean. Now experts believe that this yet unidentified jellyfish species may offer more information about the enigmatic aquatic world where it originated.
Scientists filmed the gelatinous orange organism at a depth of over 1,400 meters at the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, one of the Pacific Ocean’s most pristine and yet unexplored ecosystems.
“This is a gelatinous predator,” Dhugal Lindsay, a researcher at Japan’s Marine-Earth Science and Technology Agency, said in a statement. “They must be eating something big and also gelatinous at that depth.” However, it is not yet known exactly what this mysterious deep-dwelling creature preyed upon, possibly an unidentified species within the genus Bathykorus.
No light reaches the ocean depths where Bathykorus was observed. Therefore, many marine organisms create bioluminescence through a chemical reaction that produces light in their bodies, and it is thought that any organism that Bathykorus consumes likely also emits this type of light.
Experts believe Bathykorus ate other gelatinous animals and bioluminescent prey, such as jellyfish, using the tentacles on its bell-like part.
Lindsay believes that, unlike its transparent cousins, this Bathykorus has evolved its brown-red color to prevent light from its bioluminescent prey from leaking out of its stomach, providing unparalleled protection against potential predators.
Having only three tentacles, this trimer jellyfish is extremely rare and appears somewhat adult-like, characterized by three gastric sacs. The closest relative of this species was first and only observed in the same area about ten years ago by the NOAA Ocean Exploration vessel Okeanos Explorer.
This Bathykorus not only begins to tell its own life story, but also a now unknown part of the food chain found in this unique, little-explored land. Until recently, it was believed that no creature ate jellyfish, as they were mostly made of water and sting those who tried to eat them, Lindsay says. But the fact that this Bathukorus is protecting itself by preventing bioluminescence from passing through their stomachs suggests something is trying to eat it.
The E/V Nautilus is an exploration vessel managed by the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET). The scientists on board explore deep-sea geology and biology through remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) equipped with high-resolution cameras and LED lighting, studying areas where light could not otherwise penetrate.
“Most of our ocean is unmapped and unexplored,” OET Chief Scientist Daniel Wagner said in a statement. “Our expeditions aim to not only collect critical baseline information that meets the primary needs of resource management and the scientific community, but also share that information with everyone through telepresence technology. It aims to share.”
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