When deep-sea explorers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute went on expedition off the coast of Argentina, they were amazed to see an enormous creature floating through the gloom: a giant phantom jellyfish (Stygiomedusa gigantea).
These giants are rarely seen – but some people are luckier than others. Josh Pons, a submersible pilot for Viking Expedition, has seen eight of these leviathans over three seasons in the Antarctic.
“Spotting one is almost entirely a matter of luck,” says Pons. “For example, one of my colleagues even saw two on a single dive at an unusually shallow site of just 80 metres deep. It was her first sighting after 56 dives.”
A trained marine biologist, Pons takes Viking’s guests down hundreds of metres deep on the submersibles onboard the expedition ships (the Viking Octantis and Polaris both travel to Antarctica).
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Although he’d heard about sightings of these gigantic jellies, he didn’t think he’d ever set eyes on one. “I never imagined I would be lucky enough to see one myself,” he says. “After 50 Antarctic dives, my moment finally came.”
You never know what you might see on an Antarctic dive and sometimes it takes a moment to identify the beast before you. “At first, I couldn’t make sense of what I was looking at,” says Pons. “They’re enormous, drifting silently past you with an almost otherworldly presence.”
With tentacles that can trail on for 10 metres, giant phantom jellyfish can grow longer than a bus. Even though things appear smaller out of the sub windows – due to refraction – these colossal jellies make any other marine life around them look tiny.
“As you approach their scale becomes astonishing,” he says. “They tower over the seafloor life around them, dwarfing even the tallest barrel sponges and corals.”
If guests on Pons’ sub trip come across a phantom, he always stresses that this isn’t just any jellyfish. “I always make sure they understand just how extraordinary and rare the experience truly is,” he says. Citizen science sightings like these can even help researchers learn more about rarely seen animals.
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Even though Pons has seen these remarkable jellies several times, the experience never gets old. “Every sighting feels special,” he says. “I never expect to see another, so each encounter feels as thrilling as the first.”
Credit: Viking Expedition Cruises, https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk
