Impurest's Guide to Animals #20 - Stygiomedusa

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Edited By ImpurestCheese

Wow a Tuesday release (due to work) talk about further schedule disruptions. Last week (sort of) the slithering Sheputolisk was in the spotlight. This week’s animal is from a totally different world, one full of darkness and deep sea monstrosities. Hope you guys enjoy.

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Issue #20 - Stygiomedusa gigantea

[1]
[1]

Kingdom – Animalia

Phylum – Cinidaria

Class – Scyphozoa

Order – Semaestomeae

Family – Ulmaridae

Genus – Stygiomedusa

Species – gigantea

Related Species - S. gigantea is the only member of the genus Stygiomedusa (1)

Range -S. gigantea can be found at depths of 1500m in the Southern, Atlantic and Pacific oceans

Deep Sea Enigma

Stygiomedusa is a large brown, almost black, jellyfish, whose body follows the group’s normal body plan, of a bell connected to a trailing set of tentacles. The bell is approximately a meter across and contains the gastrovasclar cavity and the neural net (2). Unlike surface dwelling jellyfish Stygiomedusa has no stinging cells on its tentacles (which can reach a length of ten meters) and are believed to use them to envelop and suffocate their prey.

[2]
[2]

The diet of Stygiomedusa is unknown, although it is assumed to be carnivorous (due to a lack of photosynthetic organs) or possibly a scavenger. Marine Snow is likely the mainstay of Stygiomedusa’s diet due to its slow swimming speed and lack of luring organs. Predators are probably few and far between due to the large size of the adults, although Sleeper Sharks (Somniosus pacificus) and Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalu) are large enough and strong enough to potentially prey on it. The small fish Thessalobathica is often associated with Stygiomedusa although the exact relationship is unknown.

[3]
[3]

The reproduction cycle of Stygiomedusa is known to some extent, mostly from examined female specimens. The larvae or medusa gestate in a brood pouch before being released into the ocean (3). Larval Stygiomedusa are part of the surface dwelling zoo-plankton, relying on the current to disperse them until they mature, and sink down to the abyssal zone.

3 fun Stygiomedusa facts (reason to be explained in fact 1)

Stygiomedusa has been known to science for over a century yet the number of sightings is very low. Over this time period there have only been 114 sightings and about seventeen specimens in total brought in for scientific analysis (4).

Of those seventeen specimens, all of them have been female. So far there have been no confirmed sightings of a male Stygiomedusa

The name Stygiomedusa gigantea translates from Greek to Giant Guardian of the River Styx

Bibliography

1 - www.arkive.org

2 - ANGIER, NATALIE (June 6, 2011). "So Much More Than Plasma and Poison". The New York Times.

3 - http://invertebrates.si.edu/antiz/taxon_view.cfm?taxon=5852

4 - Bourton, Jody (2010-04-23). "BBC - Earth News - Giant deep sea jellyfish filmed in Gulf of Mexico". BBC News

Picture References

1 - http://www.mbari.org/news/feature-image/stygiomedusa-450.jpg

2 - http://38.media.tumblr.com/b947709023624955c40f8a126030b94b/tumblr_mw33ru9npq1qc6j5yo1_1280.jpg

3 - http://www.technologijos.lt/upload/image/n/mokslas/gamta_ir_biologija/S-12745/stygiomedusa_gigantea.jpg

Thanks for reading guys; I hope you enjoyed the sinister Stygiomedusa. Make sure to drop me a comment and suggest an animal to be covered in future issues, and as usual you can check out past issues in Impurest’s Bestiary.

Many Thanks

Impurest Cheese

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warlock360

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Curtain call when you get caught in that. Couldn't of thought the ocean would become much scarier than it already was. Nicely written.

I'd be interested in the male specimen, maybe the females are more like the hunter gatherers lol

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laflux

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@impurestcheese

although it is assumed to be carnivorous (due to a lack of photosynthetic organs)

Jellyfish can actually have photosynthetic organs?

As always very informative, and thank you :)

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scattered316

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It almost looks like it's doing a Dracula impression in the first pic, it's always interesting to meet a new denizen of the deep, epecially one this rare and bizzare :]

Also, how strong are its tentacles, compared to say, a generic octopus of the same size?

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deactivated-5a162dd41dd64

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Wow, it's so...elegant.

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ImpurestCheese

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@warlock360: Yep not fun at all. It could be possible that there are no males and the species breeds through pathogenesis (cloning)

@laflux: Some surface dwelling species have photosynthetic cells to aid in energy gathering.

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laflux

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@laflux: Some surface dwelling species have photosynthetic cells to aid in energy gathering.

Or those foreign, or part of the animal itself?

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#8  Edited By cbishop

@impurestcheese: That first picture looks like a puppet for a bad, B-movie sci-fi alien. "Stygiomedusa" would even be its name. lol

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@impurestcheese: Damn, Jellyfish can get big. This gal, Lion mane's, etc...bunch of monsters.

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#10  Edited By wildvine

100 years known, but only 114 sightings... That's around one sighting a year on average. Dead celeberties get more sightings then that. We need TMZ looking for this thing. Lol

Edit: My horrible equation of average has been corrected.

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@scattered316: Not as strong as an octopus but powerful enough to suffocate prey

@cbishop: Yep but let's just say pictures were limited.

@ostyo: Yes they do. The larger ones can even capsize boats when they swarm together

@squares: In a creepy dementor kind of way

@laflux: They use symbiotic dinoflagellates living in the tentacles to produce the energy

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laflux

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@laflux: They use symbiotic dinoflagellates living in the tentacles to produce the energy

I see.

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deactivated-5a162dd41dd64

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@laflux: Not sure if I've ever mentioned this, but I love your avatar.

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laflux

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@squares said:

@laflux: Not sure if I've ever mentioned this, but I love your avatar.

Thanks!!

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cbishop

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@cbishop: Yep but let's just say pictures were limited.

It wasn't a complaint. I like bad B-movie sci-fi aliens! ;)

@wildvine: Stygiomedusa = Less Common than Elvis :-)

You've never been to Las Vegas, have you? :}

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Cream_God

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That has to be the most terrifying animal I've ever seen 0_o

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OverLordArhas

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@impurestcheese:

At first I thought it was a mushroom draped in cloth. hehe

By lack of luring organs, does it mean that it lack bio luminescence?

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Samimista

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Absolutely beautiful! Disturbing how they can suffocate their prey though. 0.o

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@samimista: Yep being disturbing is nature's forete

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deactivated-097092725

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It seems like an ocean phantom of sorts by its colouring and shape. The word ominous fits here, I think. I wonder if there are any myths attached to it from locals.

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#26  Edited By ImpurestCheese

@hislolita: It's so rarely seen that there are no myt connected to it.