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

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.

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.

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