Otherworldly video captures rare jellyfish with a hitchhiker in its bell

Eerie new footage captures a rare, otherworldly scene: a giant jellyfish with a tiny isopod swimming around in its bag-like body. In the video, the translucent blob contracts its veiny membrane as it floats in the twilight zone with the bright-orange isopod, a type of crustacean, inside its bell.

Scientists with the Schmidt Ocean Institute spotted the elusive creature at a depth of 2,766 feet (843 meters) during an expedition to the Atacama Trench off the coast of Chile. They identified the jellyfish as belonging to the genus Deepstaria. These jellyfish lack long, stinging tentacles, so they capture their dinner by enveloping prey within their bodies, according to an Instagram post from the institute. The isopod in the video, however, isn't prey: Rather, it is a permanent resident.

Deepstaria jellyfish were first discovered off the California coast in 1966 and were named after Deepstar 4000, the submersible that spotted them. Since then, Deepstaria sightings have been extraordinarily rare.

There are currently two recognized species within this genus: Deepstaria enigmatica and Deepstaria reticulum.

Their exact distribution remains unknown but both species have been found in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of California, Caribbean and Central Atlantic Ocean. D. enigmatica has also been observed in the Southern Ocean near the Antarctic. All observations were recorded at depths of around 2,000 to 5,700 feet (600 to 1,750 m), according to a 2018 study.

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Deepstaria jellyfish use their membranous bell to engulf small crustaceans, fish and even other jellyfish, closing their bell to keep prey trapped inside. This motion allows isopods to enter the body of the jellyfish.