A striking underwater video from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, later shared on Reddit, is giving viewers a rare glimpse of one of the ocean's strangest creatures: a translucent comb jelly with a vivid blood-red stomach that helps it survive in the darkness of the deep sea.
What happened?
The clip, shared in a post on Reddit, shows a bloody-belly comb jelly drifting through the dark ocean as shimmering bands ripple across its body.
(Click here if the embedded video does not appear.)
According to the post's caption, the adaptation helps the comb jelly stay hidden while feeding on bioluminescent animals common in the deep sea. Because red wavelengths are quickly absorbed by seawater and are nearly invisible at those depths, the jelly's dark-red stomach effectively conceals any glowing prey it has swallowed, preventing its meal from lighting up its otherwise hard-to-spot body.
Despite the name, it is not a true jellyfish. The animal is a ctenophore, or comb jelly, and it moves by flapping rows of tiny cilia, or combs, that also create the shimmering effect seen in the footage.
Why does it matter?
In the deep ocean, where sunlight does not penetrate, visibility operates very differently from near the surface. A color that would seem impossible to miss in daylight can become the perfect disguise in the dark.
The bloody-belly comb jelly shows how animals evolve around the unique rules of their habitat — in this case, using color as camouflage in a place where bioluminescence can be both an advantage and a risk.
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Research like this can also help scientists and the broader public better understand deep-sea food webs and the remarkable biodiversity hidden far below the surface.
What are people saying?
Commenters on Reddit were captivated by the footage, with many expressing amazement at the comb jelly's unusual appearance.
"Beautiful but terrifying lava lamp," one user joked.
"Wow, nature is awesome," another added.
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