La medusa bioluminescente della Fossa delle Marianne

Il sottomarino ROV Deep Discover della NOAA ha filmato a 3.700 metri di profondità, nella Fossa delle Marianne, quella che potrebbe essere una nuova specie di meduse bioluminescenti del genere Crossota.

Scientists believe this animal belongs to the genus Crossota, a group of jellies that does not have a sessile polyp stage; all phases of their lives are ocean drifters. They also believe this animal is an ambush predator – note the posture it had assumed in the first half of the video: its bell motionless with its tentacles outstretched like the struts of a spider's web, waiting for something to bumble into them. The red canals, they suggest, appear to connect the bright yellow objects, which may be gonads.