Scientists Capture Video of Deepstaria, a Rarely Seen, Shapeshifting Jellyfish

Millions of years of evolution taking place beneath the sea's surface have produced some bizarre animals. Jellyfish are among the oldest—and strangest—of the bunch. Some have "transient" anuses that only form when necessary, and others can renew their life cycles indefinitely. Little is known about Deepstaria, a jellyfish recently spotted by the crew of the Nautilus research vessel in the central Pacific Ocean, but as the video below shows, it's no less unusual than other species of jellyfish.

As Live Science reports, scientists aboard the Nautilus were scanning the seafloor about halfway between the U.S. and Australia when they spotted a spooky-looking creature hovering in front of them. It soon became clear that cosplaying a ghost wasn't all it could do. The jelly unfurled its sheet-like bell to reveal a geometric mesh membrane used to distribute nutrients throughout its body—a telltale sign of Deepstaria. It spends the rest of the video putting on a show for its guests, transforming from something resembling a crumpled plastic bag to a billowing blanket shape.

Deepstaria enigmatica was discovered by the Jacques Cousteau-designed Deepstar 4000 submersible—the vessel the species is named after—in the 1960s. It's only been spotted about a dozen times in the years since, and many details of how it lives remain a mystery to researchers.

Deepstaria's most distinctive feature is its massive, flowing bell. It lacks the tentacles most jellyfish use to wrangle prey, and scientists suspect it instead uses its bell as a net when hunting. The specimen captured in this video appears to be harboring a stowaway: a bright-red, living isopod suspended inside the bell. It isn't clear if the creature hitched a ride on purpose to evade more ferocious predators, if it's some type of parasite, or if it's the jellyfish's lunch.

With so many undiscovered and understudied species living in the sea, the Nautilus research vessel is frequently stumbling upon extraordinary examples of ocean life. In 2016 alone, it recorded footage of a googly-eyed stubby squid and a mysterious purple orb.