Astonishing new species of trippy, red jellyfish discovered in the ocean's "midnight zone"

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) scientists have described a new species of Atolla jellyfish that they discovered in the ocean's "midnight zone" 1000 to 4000 meters below the surface. Sunlight doesn't reach that depth so the only glow comes from bioluminescent creatures. The researchers first spotted the creature in video from remotely operated vehicles exploring the Monterey Bay off the coast of California. From The Guardian:

While Atolla, a red-colored jelly with one trailing tentacle, is a common inhabitant of the midnight zone of Monterey Bay, there were some jellies that looked different. Instead of one tentacle, this jelly had none[…]

The researchers collected numerous specimens of three different Atolla-like jellies that lacked the tentacle. They have now created enough details to formally identify one of them, naming it the Atolla reynoldsi in a research paper published last month. The newly described jelly is larger than other Atollas – the largest specimen MBARI researchers collected was 13 centimeters in diameter[…]

The existence of this jelly raises questions about species that live in the global ocean and haven't yet been described. Millions of species live in the deep-sea – and many are still unknown. Noaa estimates that humans have only described 10% of what can be found in the ocean.