Fascinating ROV Footage of a Deep Sea Bloody-Belly Comb Jelly Camouflaging a Bioluminescent Dinner

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute captured absolutely fascinating ROV footage of a bloody-belly comb jelly (Lampocteis cruentiventer), a fascinating deep-sea creatures that possess a self-descriptive red belly. These comb jellies live in the mesopelagic zone of the ocean where only 1% of the sun’s light reaches, so the color red provides good cover and ostensibly hides any internal bioluminescence from food they might eat.

This sparkling, deep-sea fireball is the comb jelly Lampocteis cruentiventer. MBARI scientists helped to describe this genus and species using ROV video footage. The name means “brilliant comb jelly with a blood-red belly.” …Red wavelengths are absorbed quickly in the ocean, so red coloration helps deep-sea animals camouflage in the depths where they appear black and disappear into the darkness.

image via MBARI