New species of deep-sea comb jelly that ‘moves like hot air balloon attached to ocean floor’ discovered
Gelatinous animal found in deep underwater trenches using remotely operated vehicle
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Scientists have discovered a new species of comb jelly in deep underwater trenches off the coast of Puerto Rico that they said was observed moving like a hot air balloon tethered to the seafloor.
Researchers from the US scientific agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), discovered the new species of ctenophore using underwater cameras.
The gelatinous animal, named Duobrachium sparksae, was located 4 kilometres below the surface and could only be observed by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which beamed high-definition footage back to the research team.
After studying the video, which was filmed in 2015, the scientists observed unusual behaviour. “The ctenophore has long tentacles, and we observed some interesting movement,” said NOAA fisheries scientist Mike Ford, who, along with colleague Allen Collins, spotted the comb jelly and recognised it as a new species.
“It moved like a hot air balloon attached to the seafloor on two lines, maintaining a specific altitude above the seafloor.
“Whether it’s attached to the seabed, we’re not sure. We did not observe direct attachment during the dive, but it seems like the organism touches the seafloor.”
He added: “We saw the species three times in a relatively small area; hopefully that means they’re not extremely rare.”
The discovery marks the first time NOAA scientists have relied on high-definition video alone to describe a new creature, as no physical samples were collected.
Although they look similar, comb jellies and jellyfish are not closely related.
Most comb jellies have eight rows of comb-like cilia that rhythmically beat, refracting light into colors, as they move through the water. There are between 100–150 known species of comb jellies.
“We didn’t have sample collection capabilities on the ROV at the time,” said Mr Collins.
“Even if we had the equipment, there would have been very little time to process the animal because gelatinous animals don’t preserve very well; ctenophores are even worse than jellyfish in this regard.
“High-quality video and photography were crucial for describing this new species.
“Some insect species descriptions have been done with low-quality imagery and some scientists have said they don’t think that’s a good way of doing things.
“But for this discovery we didn’t get any pushback. It was a really good example of how to do it the right way with video.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments