The post could go in a number of directions. The ocean is amazing. I hope you don't plan to sleep tonight. The giant phantom jelly captured by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute is a Rorschach test that can inspire awe and terror.
Points can be given to the giant phantom jellyfish being a cool-ass jelly. The phantom jelly has been seen in the wild 100 times since 1899. Despite doing thousands of dives using a remote-operated vehicle, researchers have had nine encounters with it.
It lives in every ocean basin save the Arctic, so it has an impressive track record of stealth. This is cause for fear. I'm not sure if this will drag me off into the deep next time I visit Coney Island.
I am getting away from myself. Cool facts, cool facts. Right. Okay. Themidnight zone is a location in the water column that is not quite the twilight zone or the abyss. There is a sweet spot between 3,300 and 13,000 feet below the surface. It is frightening to think of a ghost jellyfish at a depth of the ocean where nobody could hear you scream as you dragged yourself into the murky depths.
I did it again. My focus is usually better. We are getting this back on track. The phantom jellyfish is the first part of its name. We are talking a 10-foot (3-meter) bell and a 3-foot (1-meter) bell. That is not lion's mane Jelly big, it is their tangle of tentacles.
A 3-foot bell could hold a human head, and a 10-foot tentacles that looked like strips of paper could cover a man's body, and then the strange creatures would pick them up and eat them.
I don't know why this is hard for me. This should be easy for someone who loves nature. A piece of cake. The researchers observed fish swimming. Which, okay, see. That is nice! The midnight zone is not good for sea creatures. Smaller fish can hide from larger predators with the help of the giant phantom jellyfish. The brotula with was captured in 2003 by the ROV, and researchers wrote that it had a belly against the jelly. What a cute turn of phrase.
