While working on The Serpent Project, a group of scientists discovered the Stygiomedusa gigantean jellyfish of the Gulf of Mexico.
You probably wouldn’t want to get too up close and personal with the Stygiomedusa gigantean, a jellyfish with tentacles about 18 feet long—but from a safe distance, this prehistoric creature is a pretty astonishing sight.
Recently, a group of scientists working on the Serpent Project, which uses remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) provided by oil and gas companies to explore the deep sea, came across this extremely rare species in the Gulf of Mexico. The jellyfish has only been spotted 114 times in the 110 years since it was discovered, and it has never been seen before in the Gulf of Mexico.
The unusual creature was quite interested in the researchers’ equipment, and wrapped around the machinery with its tentacles. Thankfully, it didn’t break anything, and the scientists were able to take some remarkable video footage. Check it out at BBC News.