A New Jellyfish in the Midnight Zone

Scientists at Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have discovered a new species of jellyfish in the deep water off the California coast. They first spotted the deep-sea crown jelly, christened, 15 years ago but only recently have been able to distinguish it from other species in the genus.

Atolla reynoldsi resides in the ocean’s bathyal zone, between 1000 and 3000 meters deep, also called the midnight zone because sunlight doesn’t reach these depths. The new species is relatively large – about five inches across – compared to other Atolla. It has the distinctive furrowed bell of all crown jellies, expressed in A. reynoldsi as warty papillae and spiked ridges.

They named the new guy after Jeff Reynolds, the first volunteer at MBARI’s partner Monterey Bay Aquarium. “We named this stunning new species in honor of Jeff Reynolds in recognition of the 4.3 million hours of service that he and other volunteers have contributed to the Monterey Bay Aquarium over the past 38 years,” said MBARI Senior Education and Research Specialist George Matsumoto, lead author on the description of this new species.

MBARI researchers have documented more than 225 new species over the years, found mostly in its titular bay or environs, “but we have barely scratched the surface in revealing the diversity of life in the deep sea,” they say in their press release. In fact they have two other candidates in the Atolla genus that they hope to document soon.

See the new jellyfish in motion here: youtube.com/watch?v=zltB_qTWd7Q&t=4s.

Photo credit: Atolla_reynoldsi: MBARI