The Psychedelic Medusa is a deep-sea hydrozoan that is abundant in the North Pacific. The mini-jelly is found at depths between 1000m to 3800m, and are often observed drifting near the ocean floor. It also has an eccentric reproduction behavior uncommon in cnidarians. The females display viviparity, and carry the babies in her bell until they are ready to hatch.
This jelly’s crazy colors and far-out appearance clued scientists into a unique find. ✨
Of all the jellies that call the ocean’s midnight zone home, the psychedelic jelly (Crossota millsae) is one of the most stunning. Its wildly colorful appearance—ruby red, bright orange, and electric purple—first tipped off scientists that they had found a previously unknown species.
But a closer look offered scientists another surprise: This species is one of a handful of jellies that bear live young.
The female psychedelic jelly broods her babies on those crimson canals that radiate out inside her bell. Mom carries more than a single baby at once. Her babies can all be different sizes, indicating different stages of development. The developing young get their nutrition from mom. In their shelter beneath her bell, the little jellies grow bigger and bigger, even sprouting tentacles while still attached to their mother. When the juvenile jelly outgrows its shelter, it pulses free and swims off to live on its own. As the juvenile grows, its lavender color fades, developing the tangerine pigmentation typical of adults.
JSYK, this is only the second member of the species & genus ever observed. This video was shot in 2021; there was previously one captured in 1997. Nothing else. These fuckers are not only bizarre even by Box Jelly standards, they’re basically cryptids.
