{"id":323146,"date":"2026-03-01T08:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T08:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/323146\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T08:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T08:36:08","slug":"i-couldnt-make-sense-of-what-i-was-looking-at-deep-sea-submarine-pilot-recalls-first-sighting-of-super-rare-ocean-giant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/323146\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI couldn\u2019t make sense of what I was looking at\u201d \u2013 Deep sea submarine pilot recalls first sighting of super rare ocean giant"},"content":{"rendered":"

When deep-sea explorers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute went on expedition off the coast of Argentina, they were amazed to see an\u00a0enormous creature floating<\/a>\u00a0through the gloom: a giant phantom jellyfish (Stygiomedusa gigantea).<\/p>\n

These giants are rarely seen \u2013 but some people are luckier than others.\u00a0Josh Pons<\/a>, a submersible pilot for\u00a0Viking Expedition<\/a>, has seen eight of these leviathans over three seasons in the Antarctic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSpotting one is almost entirely a matter of luck,\u201d says Pons. \u201cFor example, one of my colleagues even saw two on a single dive at an unusually shallow site of\u00a0just 80 metres deep. It was her first sighting after 56 dives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A trained marine biologist, Pons takes Viking\u2019s guests down hundreds of metres deep on the submersibles onboard the expedition ships (the\u00a0Viking Octantis\u00a0and\u00a0Polaris\u00a0both travel to Antarctica).\u00a0<\/p>\n

This footage of a giant phantom jelly was recorded by the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s ROV\u00a0SuBastian\u00a0during a recent expedition off the coast of Argentina. Credit: ROV\u00a0SuBastian\u00a0| Schmidt Ocean Institute<\/p>\n

Although he\u2019d heard about sightings of these gigantic jellies, he didn\u2019t think he\u2019d ever set eyes on one. \u201cI never imagined I would be lucky enough to see one myself,\u201d he says. \u201cAfter 50 Antarctic dives, my moment finally came.\u201d<\/p>\n

You never know what you might see on an Antarctic dive and sometimes it takes a moment to identify the beast before you. \u201cAt first, I couldn\u2019t make sense of what I was looking at,\u201d says Pons. \u201cThey\u2019re enormous, drifting silently past you with an almost otherworldly presence.\u201d<\/p>\n

With tentacles<\/a> that can trail on for 10 metres,\u00a0giant phantom jellyfish<\/a>\u00a0can grow longer than a bus. Even though things appear smaller out of the sub windows \u2013 due to refraction \u2013 these colossal jellies make any other marine life around them look tiny.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you approach their scale becomes astonishing,\u201d he says. \u201cThey tower over the seafloor life around them, dwarfing even the tallest barrel sponges and corals.\u201d<\/p>\n

If guests on Pons\u2019 sub trip come across a phantom, he always stresses that this isn\u2019t just any\u00a0jellyfish<\/a>. \u201cI always make sure they understand just how extraordinary and rare the experience truly is,\u201d he says. Citizen science sightings like these can even help researchers\u00a0learn more about<\/a>\u00a0rarely seen animals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even though Pons has seen these remarkable jellies several times, the experience never gets old. \u201cEvery sighting feels special,\u201d he says. \u201cI never expect to see another, so each encounter feels as thrilling as the first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Credit: Viking Expedition Cruises,\u00a0https:\/\/www.vikingcruises.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n