The Erenna Jelly Fish is a recent find. These Siphonophores were discovered about 1 to 1 ½ miles below the surface of the ocean. The discovery was made by Steven Haddock and his colleagues of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) at Moss Landing, California using a Remote Vehicle (The Tiburon).
Steven Haddock focus has been in the study of bioluminescent characteristics within gelatinous animals for over a decade. The Erenna Jelly Fish falls right in the middle of that. Many scientists wonder why the estimated 90 percent of deep-sea animals are bioluminescent. They often wonder why such life spends so much energy (intensive) to produce the light. Some use it to see pray. Others use it to expose enemies to their own enemies. Nearly all siphonophores are bioluminescent.
The Erenna Jelly Fish a relative to Coral, Hydroids, and True Jelly Fish are about a foot and a ½ long, and have many tentacles. Under the microscope, they have found that the tips of the tentacles on Erenna Jelly Fish end with glowing red blobs. Unlike some Jelly Fish that use their light making ability for defense (light up intensely), the Erenna Jelly Fish lights them more conservatively, signaling that they may serve a different purpose. Some of the younger Erenna Jelly Fish sometimes show Blue-Green light instead.
The purpose of the light isn’t the only question surrounding the Erenna Jelly Fish light making ability, another question that came to mind about the Erenna Jelly Fish, is “Why red?” The researchers are confident that they are blind first off, so it would not likely be a means of communication, as may be the case with many other siphonophores.
Other specimens of the Erenna Jelly Fish that has been retrieved yielded another surprise. When the researches investigated their stomachs they found half digested minuscule fish in some of them. This was an interesting discovery since fish are not normally found in significant quantity at the Erenna Jelly Fish’s environment.
A theory based on this is that the red luminescence may be intended to mimic deep-sea copepods, and be key to luring small fish that the Erenna jellyfish eat to their tentilla. Every side tentilla contain about 3000 stinger cells all attached to their center. Just like other Jelly Fish, the Erenna jellyfish poisons its meal with spores (like little harpoons), and then draws the food to its mouth . This theory, that they use red light to attract prey does however counteract another theory on deep-sea fish. A theory that suggests that deep sea fish can’t see red. This theory has its basis in the fact that the red rays of the sun are filtered off naturally by the water, leaving only blue-green. It is therefore assumed that deep sea fish can’t see red since the color isn’t naturally present. However of the two to three thousand known deep-sea fish, only about 250 have been analyzed as far as their visual pigments. Of these only 3 are known to be able to see red.
Overall, the Erenna Jelly Fish accomplishes quite a bit. First off considering it has no brain in a human sense, it still survives where few fish tread. Beyond that, it is also spineless as are all its relatives, though it moves along fine as needed. The Erenna Jelly Fish does manage to live spite this.
The discovery of the Erenna Jelly Fish is still yet a beginning. There are many deep-sea species that are yet to be discovered. The Erenna is just one of many to come. As remote devices become more advanced, and capable of reaching deeper depths scientists will be better able to collect more and better preserved specimens. More will be revealed, at a slow pace, but in the end, we will know much more.
It is our hope that there will be more study made and information available about the Erenna Jelly fish, as it does reveal a number of things that were not previously known and might detract from other theories as well.
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