Stretching up to six times the diameter of its bell, these appendages are thought to be a tool for snagging ghostly threads of 'stingy thingy' siphonophores that float about in the open seas. Three stand out as easy to distinguish, while the rest take an expert eye to tell apart.īut one thing biologists thought they could rely on as an Atolla signature trait was a single, super-long tentacle that trailed from its coif of curls. Thanks to MBARI's efforts, 10 species have been formally assigned to the genus. MBARI has captured plenty of information on the characteristics of these dazzlingly beautiful animals in recent decades, thanks to their fleet of deep-sea research vessels. But when an animal lurks hundreds of meters (thousands of feet) beneath the ocean's surface, it takes perseverance and technology to collect even the most basic details from the most common of benthic beasties. Keeping track of life above sea level is a hard enough job for biologists. When biologists wanted to snap a shot of a giant squid last year, in fact, it was the signature flashing of one of these jellyfish they copied as a lure. The bioluminescent jellies are found in abundance far from sunlight in much of the world's marine waters. Descriptions of the freshly coroneted Atolla reynoldsi have zoologists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) in the US thinking they might now need to invent a whole new branch of the family tree for it and some of the new species' closer relatives.Īlso known as coronate medusa, Atolla are typically less than 10 centimeters (4 inches) across, blood-red in color, with a bell fringed with bumpy ridges and coiled tentacles, earning them their 'crowned' title.
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