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1月30日發(fā)表在《極地研究》雜志上的一項新研究顯示，一艘游輪的乘客們在南極半島海岸附近潛水時，拍攝到了“幽靈”般的巨型深海水母。報道稱，這種深海生物看起來像UFO宇宙飛船，底部拖著厚厚的絲帶，游蕩在海里…… 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.
有網(wǎng)友看后表示，好像《哈利·波特》里的“攝魂怪”，“深?？謶职Y犯了”……
這種巨型水母的學(xué)名叫冥河水母（Stygiomedusa gigantea），是最大的深海無脊椎動物捕食者之一。研究顯示，2022年年初，“維京遠征號”的游客們在用潛水器潛水時拍下了這種水母。 
之后，游客向游輪上的海洋生物學(xué)家、該研究的第一作者丹尼爾·摩爾（Daniel M. Moore）展示了影像。摩爾立刻就認出來了這是什么。他還表示，能夠目擊到這種生物十分罕見。 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.
圖源：《極地研究》雜志截圖 據(jù)了解，研究人員估計游客拍下來的水母有近5米長，其中一只連觸手體長至少達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。但由于這些神秘的生物通常在深海游蕩，人類幾乎看不到它們。
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. 摩爾表示，2022年游客與冥河水母的相遇，已經(jīng)改變了人們對這種神秘深水物種的了解，尤其是其海洋棲息地的廣度。通常，冥河水母在近6706米的水下被發(fā)現(xiàn)，但這些被游客拍下的卻在79到274米的水域中游蕩。
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). 
圖源：《國家地理》雜志網(wǎng)站截圖
令人驚訝的是，在2022年1月初“維京遠征號”目擊到冥河水母后，2022年1月底，另一群游客也看到了一只冥河水母，隨后有人在3月中旬又看到了一只。在2022年10月至2023年1月的旅游季節(jié)，潛水器又發(fā)現(xiàn)了7到8只。 不過，科學(xué)家們對這些巨型無脊椎動物仍然知之甚少。它們生活在極地海洋黑暗、寒冷的半深海帶（也叫“午夜區(qū)”midnight zone），據(jù)信，它們用波浪狀的帶狀手臂捕捉和捕食浮游生物和小魚。
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. 這種冥河水母旁邊生活著一種叫做大洋極深海鳚的小魚。在這種互惠互利的關(guān)系中，魚得到了水母的保護，作為回報，它們可以吃掉附著在水母上的寄生蟲，使水母免受疾病的侵襲。 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.
至于為什么這種水母會出現(xiàn)在南極較淺的水域，摩爾推測它們可能是被洋流帶來的，也可能是它們從深處浮上來，讓自己暴露在陽光下，以清除額外的寄生蟲。
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