Amazingly Rare Deep Sea Sighting: Giant Phantom Jellyfish (Video)

Have you ever seen a giant jellyfish? The answer to that question is probably 'no' considering that this giant jellyfish lives deeeeep down in the sea, where no humans dare venture. And we are totally missing out. Check out this absolute unit of a jellyfish. Stygiomedusa gigantea, better known as the giant phantom jelly is a genus of giant deep sea jellyfish in the family Ulmaridae. We learned that off the interwebs. 

According to MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute): "This ghostly giant is a rare sight. But in November 2021, MBARI researchers spotted this giant phantom jelly (Stygiomedusa gigantea) with the ROV Doc Ricketts 990 meters (3,200 feet) deep in Monterey Bay…. The giant phantom jelly was first collected in 1899. Since then, scientists have only encountered this animal about 100 times. It appears to have a worldwide distribution and has been recorded in all ocean basins except for the Arctic. The challenges of accessing its deep-water habitat contribute to the relative scarcity of sightings for such a large and broadly distributed species."