Biologists capture rare photos of giant ghost jellyfish off the coast of California; Watch the video

MONNERY, CA – The giant ghost jellyfish has been photographed by a team of biologists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI). The photos were published last Thursday and show the animal, which has a body length of one meter and arms up to 10 metres.

Recorded in the deep waters of Monterey Bay, California. The pictures show jellyfish swimming at a depth of about 975 meters.

This was only the ninth time that MBARI biologists were able to spot the animal in the thousands of underwater dives they routinely perform. According to the institute, this type of jellyfish was first collected in 1899. Since then, scientists have found this animal only about 100 times.

According to MBARI, the images will allow researchers to study these animals intact in their natural habitat.

“The high-resolution – and now 4K – video of the giant ghost jellyfish captures incredible details about the animal’s appearance and behavior that scientists would not be able to see with a sample captured by trawling,” the institute says in a note.