A jellyfish resembling a UFO was recently spotted by a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) 9,800 feet below sea level in an unexplored region of the Pacific Ocean near American Samoa. The “cosmic” jellyfish was discovered by members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during the 2017 American Samoa Expedition at the previously unexplored Utu Seamount.
According to invertebrate zoologist Allen Collins, the jellyfish may possibly be a species previously unknown to science.
“It is potentially new. There really is no way to be definitive about it, though, because specimens would need to be observed under a microscope and using genetics,” Collins told Live Science in an email.
The jellyfish is a member of the hydromedusa family.
This luminous jellyfish was just one of the creatures spotted during the Okeanos ship’s 2017 American Samoa Expedition, which aims to catalog the mysterious sea life residing at incredible ocean depths.
In April 2016, the NOAA team spotted a glowing, tentacled disco-ball-like jellyfish floating near the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot in the ocean.
Feature photo via NOAA
