When deep-sea scientists from OceanX ventured into the waters off Norway, they came across a curious crimson jellyfish with tentacles like trailing shoelaces.
The red helmet jelly (Periphylla periphylla) is commonly observed [by our teams] in blooms in Norway’s fjords” and is known to exhibit bioluminescence,” says a spokesperson from OceanX.
"During observations, it was found across multiple depths throughout Masfjorden and Sognefjorden.”
According to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), this flaming red creature loves the deep, dark sea.
“If you’ve never seen a helmet jellyfish in real life, you’re in good company: it’s one of the few jellyfish (to be accurate, cnidaria) that spends most of its life in the ocean twilight zone,” WHOI says on its website.
"Due to their photo-sensitive red pigment, helmet jellies avoid sunlight like the plague, preferring the frigid depths to the sun’s damaging rays.”
Top image credit: OceanX
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