Cnidarian · hydromedusa

Arctic Botrynema jellyfish

Botrynema ellinorae (or B. brucei ellinorae)

PacificAtlanticIndianSouthernArctic Found in 2 oceans

Depth

Between about 300 and 2,000 m

Size

Bell up to about 2.5 cm

Diet

Poorly known, probably small plankton animals

Zone

Midnight zone · 1,000 m and deeper

Key facts

• Its cousin from warmer seas has a small bump on top of the bell. The Arctic form does not.
• Under the sea ice of the Canada Basin, a robot filmed it between 400 and 1,400 m deep.
• It bears 16 clusters of 11 or 12 tentacles around the edge of its bell.

Verified sources

1. Raskoff et al. 2010, Jellies under ice : ROV observations from the Arctic 2005 Hidden Ocean Expedition
2. Russell 1980, ICES Fiches d’identification du zooplancton n° 164 : Trachymedusae
3. Earth.com : Invisible barrier that Botrynema jellyfish won’t cross

In the game: To observe

In the same zone

Antarctic deep-sea smeltBathylagus antarcticus Pigbutt wormChaetopterus pugaporcinus Helmet jellyfishPeriphylla periphylla Atolla jellyfishAtolla wyvillei FangtoothAnoplogaster cornuta Stoplight loosejawMalacosteus niger