Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From graceful jellies and sleek siphonophores to dazzling comb jellies and dancing worms, MBARI researchers are revealing the hidden diversity of delicate drifters in the deep.
Our Biodiversity and Biooptics Team, led by Senior Scientist Steven Haddock, recently concluded a 10-day expedition from Monterey Bay to the Channel Islands aboard MBARI’s flagship research vessel David Packard to study the biogeography and physiology of gelatinous plankton.
Expeditions like this one advance efforts towards a complete census of marine life and are critical to understanding ocean ecosystems, how they are linked, and how they might be changing.
Dive into some of our favorite moments from the expedition!
Learn more: mbari.org/news/mbari-researchers-complete-expedition-to-study-deep-sea-jellies-in-southern-california
Video credits:
Producer/editor: Rose Dalrymple
Production team: Kyra Schlining, Raúl Nava, Susan von Thun
Music: Tourism Relax Luisure Guitar Ocean Romance By Musical_production (Pond5)
Animals in order of appearance:
0:00 Double-dot siphonophore (Desmophyes annectens) | 278 meters (912 feet)
0:04 Bloody-belly comb jelly (Lampocteis cruentiventer) | 850 meters (2,789 feet)
0:06 Big red jelly (Tiburonia granrojo) | 1,240 meters (4,068 feet)
0:08 Sea elephant (Firoloida desmarestia) | 216 meters (709 feet)
0:12 Broad-belled siphonophore (Bargmannia lata) | 1,284 meters (4,213 feet)
0:16 Dinner plate jelly (Solmissus sp.) | 919 meters (3,015 feet)
0:19 Gossamer worm (Tomopteris sp.) | 1,079 meters (3,540 feet)
0:20 Deep-sea mysid shrimp (Gnathophausia sp.) | 1,188 meters (3,898 feet)
0:24 Abyssal king crab (Paralomis sp.) | 1,193 meters (3,914 feet)
0:28 Deep-sea catshark, thornyhead rockfish, and pom-pom anemone (Apristurus sp., Sebastolobus sp., Liponema brevicorne) | 1,289 meters (4,229 feet)
0:31 Glowing sea cucumber (Pannychia moseleyi) | 2,376 meters (7,795 feet)
0:34 Hagfish (Eptatretus sp.) | 936 meters (3,071 feet)
0:36 Spoon worm (subclass Echiura) | 926 meters (3,038 feet)
0:38 Lacy siphonophore (Erenna laciniata) | 1,420 meters (4,659 feet)
0:43 Bunny-eared amphipod (Scina sp.) | 457 meters (1,499 feet)
0:45 Christmas tree siphonophore (Forskalia sp.) | 329 meters (1,079 feet)
0:49 Helmet jelly (Periphylla periphylla) | 1,004 meters (3,294 feet)
0:52 Red-lipped comb jelly (Bathyctena chuni) | 1,846 meters (6,056 feet)
0:55 Silky jelly (Colobonema sericeum) | 327 meters (1,073 feet)
From graceful jellies and sleek siphonophores to dazzling comb jellies and dancing worms, MBARI researchers are revealing the hidden diversity of delicate drifters in the deep.
Our Biodiversity and Biooptics Team, led by Senior Scientist Steven Haddock, recently concluded a 10-day expedition from Monterey Bay to the Channel Islands aboard MBARI’s flagship research vessel David Packard to study the biogeography and physiology of gelatinous plankton.
Expeditions like this one advance efforts towards a complete census of marine life and are critical to understanding ocean ecosystems, how they are linked, and how they might be changing.
Dive into some of our favorite moments from the expedition!
Learn more: mbari.org/news/mbari-researchers-complete-expedition-to-study-deep-sea-jellies-in-southern-california
Video credits:
Producer/editor: Rose Dalrymple
Production team: Kyra Schlining, Raúl Nava, Susan von Thun
Music: Tourism Relax Luisure Guitar Ocean Romance By Musical_production (Pond5)
Animals in order of appearance:
0:00 Double-dot siphonophore (Desmophyes annectens) | 278 meters (912 feet)
0:04 Bloody-belly comb jelly (Lampocteis cruentiventer) | 850 meters (2,789 feet)
0:06 Big red jelly (Tiburonia granrojo) | 1,240 meters (4,068 feet)
0:08 Sea elephant (Firoloida desmarestia) | 216 meters (709 feet)
0:12 Broad-belled siphonophore (Bargmannia lata) | 1,284 meters (4,213 feet)
0:16 Dinner plate jelly (Solmissus sp.) | 919 meters (3,015 feet)
0:19 Gossamer worm (Tomopteris sp.) | 1,079 meters (3,540 feet)
0:20 Deep-sea mysid shrimp (Gnathophausia sp.) | 1,188 meters (3,898 feet)
0:24 Abyssal king crab (Paralomis sp.) | 1,193 meters (3,914 feet)
0:28 Deep-sea catshark, thornyhead rockfish, and pom-pom anemone (Apristurus sp., Sebastolobus sp., Liponema brevicorne) | 1,289 meters (4,229 feet)
0:31 Glowing sea cucumber (Pannychia moseleyi) | 2,376 meters (7,795 feet)
0:34 Hagfish (Eptatretus sp.) | 936 meters (3,071 feet)
0:36 Spoon worm (subclass Echiura) | 926 meters (3,038 feet)
0:38 Lacy siphonophore (Erenna laciniata) | 1,420 meters (4,659 feet)
0:43 Bunny-eared amphipod (Scina sp.) | 457 meters (1,499 feet)
0:45 Christmas tree siphonophore (Forskalia sp.) | 329 meters (1,079 feet)
0:49 Helmet jelly (Periphylla periphylla) | 1,004 meters (3,294 feet)
0:52 Red-lipped comb jelly (Bathyctena chuni) | 1,846 meters (6,056 feet)
0:55 Silky jelly (Colobonema sericeum) | 327 meters (1,073 feet)
