Giant ‘ghost’ animal the size of a bus spotted in the Atlantic: “There was a mixture of excitement and disbelief”

“Its ethereal, delicate presence in such an extreme environment was profoundly surprising,” María Emilia Bravo, a marine biologist at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina and chief scientist of the deep Atlantic expedition, told The New York Times. The team had just discovered a giant jellyfish 820 feet (250 meters) beneath the waters off Argentina.

Scientists encountered the enormous creature while operating a remotely operated vehicle known as SuBastian during an expedition that surveyed the entire Argentine coastline. Unlike some jellyfish, these so-called giant phantom jellyfish do not have stinging tentacles. Instead, they use long, ribbon-like arms to capture prey – usually plankton or small fish – before feeding. They can grow up to 33 feet (10 meters) in length, with bells measuring more than 35 inches (90 centimeters) across.

What makes the recent sighting so striking is that the species has been recorded only about 120 times since the first specimen was collected in 1899. That rarity is largely because they inhabit the so-called midnight zone, a part of the ocean that stretches between 3,300 and 13,100 feet (1,000 to 4,000 meters) below the surface and exists in total darkness.

The team from the Schmidt Ocean Institute also documented remarkable biodiversity, including the largest known reef of Bathelia candida coral, an expanse comparable in size to Vatican City.

Researchers further identified the carcass of a whale on the seafloor at roughly 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) deep – the first recorded deep-sea whale fall in Argentine waters. Such remains can generate complex, temporary ecosystems, providing sustenance and shelter for deep-sea animals and other organisms.

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