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A jellyfish " elevator " carrying a thumb fish up from the ocean depth has been bewitch in a photo documenting one of the largest migration in the world — one that takes office every Nox .

Tom Shlesinger , a nautical ecologist at Tel Aviv University , take the photo , title " Nightly lift , " off the coast of Florida ’s Palm Beach . It win the Behavior category at this year’sRoyal Society Publishing Photography Competition .

A deep sea jellyfish swims while carrying a golden fish on its pad

During nightfall, many small or juvenile animals hitch a ride on jellyfishes to be transported to different depths.

Shlesinger ’s photo captures the perpendicular journey of billions of marine fauna that live in the twilight zone — between 660 and 3,280 human foot ( 200 to 1,000 meter ) beneath the ocean surface — as they travel up to the surface . In the photograph , an unidentified jellyfish metal money carry a thumb yellow-bellied Pisces as it ascends from the depths .

According to a program line from the Royal Society , many small or young brute hitch a drive up to the surface on man-of-war , providing them with a " unique lift . "

" Not only that these juveniles can peacefully rest while the jellyfish transports them above , but they also get some protection , " representatives wrote . " With their stinging cellphone , the jelly protect their hitchhiker from predators that will avoid getting too close . "

A jellyfish on a black background with a small yellow fish above it

The jellyfish was photographed on its nightly ascent to the surface off the coast of Florida.

investigator think the nightly migration — known as thediel vertical migration(DVM ) — is related to feed behaviors , enable pocket-size creature to course in the food - rich surface waters under the covering fire of swarthiness , which help protect them from predators . Before dawn , they condescend back to the safety of the twilight zone .

Related : foreign - similar coxcomb jellies have a nervous system like nothing ever seen before

The overall succeeder of the photography competition wasIrina Petrova Adamatzky , whose double " Martian landscape " depicted the slime moldLamproderma scintillansgrowing on a fallen foliage in the U.K.

“A crack in time,” by Chia-Hsin Tsai, which shows a fault in an outcrop in the Corinth Canal in Greece that was exposed during excavation work in 2022.

The image depicts a typical outcrop, showcasing normal faults within extensional tectonics setting. The Corinth Canal sits in the centre of the neotectonic depression and cuts through numerous normal faults. These faults displaced the Middle to Late Pleistocene lacustrine and marine stratigraphy with evident sedimentary structures.(Image credit: Dr Chia-Hsin (Wendy) Tsai/Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition.)

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a starfish on a coral reef with lots of small fish swimming above it

“Star of the night” by Tom Shlesinger won the Ecology category of this year’s Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition.(Image credit: Tom Shlesinger)

Other category succeeder include an image of a sea star on a coral reef , also occupy by Shlesinger , and " A fling in time , " by Chia - Hsin Tsai , which designate a fault in an outcrop in the Corinth Canal in Greece that was let out during digging work in 2022 .

" Star of the Nox " by Tom Shlesinger gain ground the Ecology category of this year ’s Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition .

Jellyfish Lake seen from the viewpoint of a camera that is half in the water and half outside. We see dozens of yellow jellyfish in the water.

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