Stygiomedusa gigantea

What is a jellyfish to do when it has NO TENTACLES?

The answer is simple: great, big curtains of death!

Video: MBARI

Stygiomedusa gigantea is a... gigantic (hence!) deep sea jellyfish that has been spotted in almost every ocean in the world. They really are enormous, with a bell that can reach over 1 metre (3 feet) across. But that isn't what makes them REALLY big. What makes them REALLY big are the four, 10 metre (32 feet) long drapes hanging off the bell.

S. gigantea has no tentacles and no stinging cells. The curtains are grandly oversized oral arms which slowly waft behind the jellyfish's bell in a strangely surreal way. It's like a mighty gust of wind blew through the window, sent the drapes flying and then FREEZE.

It's thought that S. gigantea swims around with its oral arms flaring and uses them to basically absorb any small, planktonic creatures that get stuck to them.

So next time your curtains are aflutter on a windy day, keep a close eye on them!