There’s a creature in the ocean that’s longer than a tennis court and has bushy mane-like tentacles that paralyse its prey – and scientists just shared staggering footage of it.
When marine researchers from National Geographic Pristine Seas visited the kelp forests and rocky reefs of the Chilean Fjords of Patagonia, they encountered large lion's mane jellyfish swimming through the water.
The hypnotic footage shows the huge jellyfish pulsing through the fjords with their tentacles billowing behind them like a thick plume of smoke.
“Though it may look like jellyfish are just floating along in the ocean, they are actually quite efficient swimmers that move by rhythmically contracting and relaxing their bell-shaped bodies,” says Kat Millage, a marine researcher at National Geographic Pristine Seas. “This movement forces water backwards which propels them forward.”
- NASA officials sent over 2,000 baby jellyfish into space. Tens of thousands more came back to Earth
- These 5 creatures have the longest tentacles in the world
These jellies can grow to immense sizes. “Some individuals found in the Arctic and Antarctic have been found to have bells that were nearly 3m (7ft) wide with tentacles up to 30m (100ft) long,” Millage says.
As they swim, they catch tiny prey – including plankton and small fishes – using their stinging tentacles. “Whenever something touches one of the jelly's tentacles, the 'stinging' cells fire a tiny harpoon which injects a toxin when it touches the skin of the prey,” says explains. “This toxin is what causes a jellyfish sting to hurt.”
- 8 things you (probably) didn't know about jellyfish
- Can jellyfish sting even when they're dead?
- What is the biggest jellyfish in the world? Meet this monster jelly
Although contact with one of these venomous beasties would be incredibly painful, seeing them from a distance is mesmerising.
“These jellyfish are really cool to see underwater because of their ornate frilly-looking tentacles,” adds Millage. “The frilly tentacles hanging below the bell are actually the oral arms of the jellyfish. These specialised tentacles act as a [conveyor] belt to help move paralysed prey from the longer outer tentacles to the mouth so it can be digested.”
Image and video credit: National Geographic Pristine Seas
More amazing wildlife stories from around the world
- Thousands of jellyfish moved into a lake on an Indonesian island – then a strange thing happened to their bodies
- This diver was filming a manta ray, when something she wasn't expecting happened…
- Colossal squid filmed alive in deep ocean for the first time ever
- Scientists tied plastic bottles to fishing nets – and couldn't believe what happened next…
