Strange jellyfish species without tentacles caught

Deepstartia jellyfish appearing on the sea floor near Baker Island is just one of several dozen individuals observed in the last 50 years.

The Nautilus research vessel during an early September expedition spotted a Deepstartia jellyfish at a depth of 790 meters on the Pacific bottom, southwest of Baker Island. This is one of the rarest and least studied jellyfish on Earth when observed only a few dozen times in the past half century.

Deepstartia jellyfish use the bell-like body structure to draw food inside.

Unlike most species in the Jellyfish class, Deepstartia does not have tentacles to catch prey but instead uses the bell-like body structure to suck food in. This transparent jellyfish possesses a complex pipe network that connects to the stomach at the "bell-tip" part , which distributes nutrients to the whole body.

The footage also shows a bright red Isopoda (belonging to the crustacean group) hiding inside the body of Deepstartia jellyfish. The team said it has observed many similar cases but it is not sure whether this is a symbiotic relationship or not.

Deepstaria jellyfish remains a mystery to date because very few specimens have been studied. The new discovery of Nautilus is very important because it helps supplement the data on species. Scientists hope to be able to spot more Deepstaria individuals in subsequent deep-sea expeditions that last until October.

Deepstartia jellyfish was discovered on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.(Video: Nautilus Live).