Crossota millsae

Crossota millsae is a species of deep-sea hydrozoan.[1] These small ocean-dwelling creatures are bioluminescent; the light emitted by these jellyfish serves as a defense or warning to other creatures.[2] Males and females have both been described, and it reproduces sexually. They are viviparous and females brood baby medusae attached to the gastric canals inside the sub-umbrellar space.

Crossota millsae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hydrozoa
Order: Trachymedusae
Family: Rhopalonematidae
Genus: Crossota
Species:
C. millsae
Binomial name
Crossota millsae
Thuesen, 2003
Synonyms

Distribution

Crossota millsae was first described from the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii and California.[1] It was subsequently found in the Arctic Ocean[3][4] and in Guayanilla Canyon off Puerto Rico.[5] NOAA researchers who filmed this species in 2018 near Puerto Rico called it a "psychedelic" jellyfish.[6] It lives below 1 km depth in all four regions. Its highest abundance is found at 2500 m off California and 1250 m off Hawaii. In the Arctic Ocean, it has been observed sitting on the seafloor.[7]

Etymology

It was named after Dr. Claudia Mills, a marine scientist at the Friday Harbor Laboratories.

References
  1. Thuesen, E.V., 2003. Crossota millsae (Cnidaria: Trachymedusae: Rhopalonematidae), a new species of viviparous hydromedusa from the deep sea off California and Hawaii. Zootaxa, 309: 1-12 http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2003f/zt00309.pdf
  2. Gasca, Rebeca; Loman-Ramos, Lucio (Jan 2014). "Biodiversity of Medusozoa (Cubozoa, Scyphozoa and Hydrozoa) in Mexico". Mexican Journal of Biodiversity. 85: 154–163. doi:10.7550/rmb.32513.
  3. Arctic Images by Kevin Raskoff
  4. BBC - Earth News - In pictures: Icy jellies
  5. "Okeanos Explorer | Expeditions | NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer: Exploring Puerto Rico's Seamounts, Trenches, and Troughs | Daily Updates | Image Detail".
  6. 'Psychedelic' jellyfish wows deep-sea explorers - CNN Video, retrieved 2018-11-21
  7. Raskoff, K.A., R.R. Hopcroft, K.N. Kosobokova, J.E. Purcell, & M. Youngbluth, 2009. Jellies under ice: ROV observations from the Arctic 2005 hidden ocean expedition, Deep-Sea Research Part II


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