A new study on comb jellies has shed light on how the extensive efforts of researchers and citizen scientists can deliver fascinating images and insights into some of nature's oldest and most unique creatures.
Discover Wildlife reported on the study, which scoured the Colombian Caribbean and Pacific and found six species of comb jellies never before sighted in Colombian seas among the 15 observed.
National Geographic Pristine Seas' Instagram account shared some of the most remarkable ones captured on film.
Comb jellies are ancient gelatinous marine creatures whose appearances can be so dazzling that you'd be forgiven if you thought they were artificial intelligence hallucinations.
Remarkably, they long predate dinosaurs. While you might assume they have some connection to jellyfish, there is actually no relation. They're found all around the world, and their movements are often mesmerizing because of how they interact with light.
Another distinctive attribute is that they release a glue-like substance to catch their prey before collecting it with their tentacles.
The comb jellies are a valuable part of the food chain, as they feed on small creatures such as fish eggs and larvae, while fish and turtles return the favor by eating them.
Due to their fragility, these creatures cannot be captured by researchers in a conventional manner.
"They can be observed and photographed but cannot be collected from the marine environment because they are so fragile that they are damaged by the nets," said Juan Mayorga, one of the study's 15 authors, per Discover Wildlife.
Fortunately, a combination of images captured by enterprising citizen scientists and a 2022 Pristine Seas initiative provided researchers with a wealth of resources to make new discoveries and unearth new insights.
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The images show comb jellies that resemble everything from conventional UFO portrayals to the sorts of gleaming ribbons you'd expect in an old-school PC screensaver.
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Save $1,000 this year 💸 "Our team's photography didn't just document beauty; it enabled taxonomy and discovery, resulting in six new species records for Colombia," concluded Mayorga. "This paper beautifully illustrates what happens when scientific rigor meets the art of underwater photograph."
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