Deep-Sea Divers Capture Rare Footage of a Giant Phantom Jellyfish

The Schmidt Ocean Institute team recorded stunning footage of a giant phantom jellyfish during a dive over the winter holidays.

Scientists filmed rare footage of a giant phantom jellyfish drifting through the darkest depths of the waters off Argentina. The species has only been captured on camera a dozen times.

The video, taken by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) from the California-based Schmidt Ocean Institute, shows the giant phantom jellyfish moving through a remote submarine canyon, providing researchers with an remarkable opportunity to observe a species typically found far below sunlight.

During a dive over the winter holidays, the Schmidt Ocean Institute team explored the Colorado-Rawson submarine canyon wall off the coast of Argentina and encountered the giant phantom jellyfish, also known as the giant phantom jelly. The creature’s main body measured around 3.3 feet wide, while its arms extended over 33 feet long.

Since its discovery in 1899, the giant phantom jellyfish has been seen only around 100 times, with only about twelve recorded on video.

Incredible footage — filmed at a depth of 830 feet — shows the giant phantom jellyfish pulsing and swirling gracefully through the dark waters. The Schmidt Ocean Institute’s ROV SuBastian captured the creature during its descent, giving scientists a rare close-up view of its ghostly form.

The giant phantom jellyfish inhabits waters from near the surface to 21,900 feet deep but is most often found in the twilight zone, where sunlight barely penetrates. Its appearances are so rare that experts have only limited knowledge about its biology and behavior. The species was not officially classified until nearly 60 years after its initial discovery. Sightings have been recorded in every ocean except the Arctic, with the highest numbers observed in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica.

According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in California, giant phantom jellyfish can grow up to 33 feet long and nearly 4 feet wide. MBARI researchers previously observed a fish swimming alongside the jellyfish in the Gulf of California, using its gelatinous arms for shelter in the ocean’s “Midnight Zone,” which stretches from roughly 3,300 to 13,100 feet below the surface.

Image credits: Header photo by ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute.