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A strange , never - before - see jellyfish with a distinctive stomach that looks like a red cross has been discovered inside a volcanic anatomical structure off the coast of Japan .
Researchers spot the jellyfish , which has been named the St. George ’s cross medusa ( Santjordia pagesi ) , 2,664 feet ( 812 meter ) below the Pacific Ocean ’s aerofoil near Japan ’s Ogasawara Islands . It was floating around the Sumisu caldera , a 6.2 - mile - wide ( 10 km ) hydrothermally fighting vent that sits on a volcanic bow , or chain of volcanoes , lie with as the Ring of Fire .
The newly described species has a distinctive stomach that looks like a red cross.
The umbrella - shaped jellyfish has a diameter of around 4 column inch ( 10 centimeters ) and is transparent , except for a undimmed crimson interbreeding , which is visible when the puppet is see from above .
The jellyfish is so rarified it has only ever been spotted doubly . It was first seen in 2002 by a remotely go vehicle ( ROV ) during a nose dive in the Sumisu caldera . However , investigator could not account a newfound species based on a single specimen , as it could have been a mutated individual go to an already - known species , consort toa statementfrom the Japan Agency for Marine - Earth Science and Technology ( JAMSTEC ) .
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In 2020 , scientists revisited the area and spotted the deep man-of-war again . While they were unable to collect a sample , they shoot the jellyfish swim around .
This 2nd encounter enabled them to describe the jellyfish as a unique species . The team reported its findings in a discipline put out Nov. 20 , 2023 , in thejournal Zootaxa .
The unusual cross shape at the center ofS. pagesiis the jellyfish ’s breadbasket . The color aid to mask the jellyfish and the food it consumes from piranha in its dismal , deep - sea habitation . Much of the animal ’s diet consists of bioluminescent organism that glow in the dark — having a ruddy venter diminishes the illumination they emit , protecting the jellyfish from predators after it has eat on its meal .
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S. pagesidiffers a large good deal to its closest relatives , which include large , deep - ocean Portuguese man-of-war such asTiburonia granrojoand the elephantine phantom jellyStygiomedusa gigantea , according to the statement . The newfound mintage is much littler and , unlike its relative , has tentacles as well as arms , which it uses for feeding . Because of its unusual traits , investigator believeS. pagesimay have a never - before - see eccentric of venom that could be used in genic inquiry , for example , in medicines .
The caldera where the man-of-war lives is rich in minerals and could potentially be commercially prepare for deep - sea minelaying . The researchers put out information about the jellyfish to try out to protect the area and its marine life .
" Maybe it hold closed book more valuable than all the mineral riches that could be pull out from that place . All this with the vantage of keeping the species and the internet site intact,“André Morandini , a prof of fauna at the University of São Paulo ’s Institute of Biosciences and part of the enquiry squad , said in a statement .
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