1月30日发表在《极地研究》杂志上的一项新研究显示，一艘游轮的乘客们在南极半岛海岸附近潜水时，拍摄到了“幽灵”般的巨型深海水母。报道称，这种深海生物看起来像UFO宇宙飞船，底部拖着厚厚的丝带，游荡在海里……
Rare sightings of giant phantom jellyfish — deep-sea creatures that look like UFO spaceships with thick ribbons streaming from their undersides — have been reported by cruise liner passengers who spotted the otherworldly animals off the coast of Antarctica, a new study published on Jan 30 in the journal Polar Research shows.
南极洲海域现罕见巨型水母，网友：好像“摄魂怪”……
有网友看后表示，好像《哈利·波特》里的“摄魂怪”，“深海恐惧症犯了”……
这种巨型水母的学名叫冥河水母（Stygiomedusa gigantea），是最大的深海无脊椎动物捕食者之一。研究显示，2022年年初，“维京远征号”的游客们在用潜水器潜水时拍下了这种水母。
之后，游客向游轮上的海洋生物学家、该研究的第一作者丹尼尔·摩尔（Daniel M. Moore）展示了影像。摩尔立刻就认出来了这是什么。他还表示，能够目击到这种生物十分罕见。
Study first author Daniel Moore, a marine biologist and one of Viking's chief scientists, first realized guests had encountered the giant phantom when he saw a picture of one on a guest's camera. "I instantly recognized it for what it was and, given the rarity of sightings, was flooded with excitement," Moore told Live Science in an email.
图源：《极地研究》杂志截图
据了解，研究人员估计游客拍下来的水母有近5米长，其中一只连触手体长至少达10米。
Researchers estimated that the jellyfish were longer than 16 feet (4.8 meters), with one stretching to at least 33 feet (10.0 meters) in length.
冥河水母生活在除了北冰洋以外的所有海洋中。但由于这些神秘的生物通常在深海游荡，人类几乎看不到它们。
Giant Phantom jellyfish live in every ocean except for the Arctic Ocean. However, because these cryptic creatures typically swim deep below the surface, they are scarcely seen by humans.
摩尔表示，2022年游客与冥河水母的相遇，已经改变了人们对这种神秘深水物种的了解，尤其是其海洋栖息地的广度。通常，冥河水母在近6706米的水下被发现，但这些被游客拍下的却在79到274米的水域中游荡。
The 2022 encounters with giant phantom jellyfish are already changing what we know about this mystical deep-water species, Moore adds—particularly the breadth of its ocean habitat. Phantom jellyfish are usually found at nearly 22,000 feet (6,705.6 meters), but these animals were swimming in waters of between 260 and 900 feet (79.2-274.3 meters).
图源：《国家地理》杂志网站截图
令人惊讶的是，在2022年1月初“维京远征号”目击到冥河水母后，2022年1月底，另一群游客也看到了一只冥河水母，随后有人在3月中旬又看到了一只。在2022年10月至2023年1月的旅游季节，潜水器又发现了7到8只。
不过，科学家们对这些巨型无脊椎动物仍然知之甚少。它们生活在极地海洋黑暗、寒冷的半深海带（也叫“午夜区”midnight zone），据信，它们用波浪状的带状手臂捕捉和捕食浮游生物和小鱼。
Scientists still know very little about these giant invertebrates, which dwell in the polar oceans' dark, cold midnight zone and are believed to use their undulating, ribbon-like arms to capture and prey on plankton and small fish.
这种冥河水母旁边生活着一种叫做大洋极深海鳚的小鱼。在这种互惠互利的关系中，鱼得到了水母的保护，作为回报，它们可以吃掉附着在水母上的寄生虫，使水母免受疾病的侵袭。
The phantom jellyfish has been observed with a small fish—called a pelagic brotula, or Thalassobathia pelagica—living alongside it. In this mutually beneficial relationship, the fish receives shelter and protection in return for keeping the jellyfish disease-free by eating any parasites that attach to it.
至于为什么这种水母会出现在南极较浅的水域，摩尔推测它们可能是被洋流带来的，也可能是它们从深处浮上来，让自己暴露在阳光下，以清除额外的寄生虫。
