Atolla vanhoeffeni reminds me of an otherworldly flower with its red and orange arms surrounding its translucent blue bell. Red and orange are the first wavelengths of light to be absorbed underwater. Red animals, like A. vanhoeffeni, appear black in the deep, dark sea. I’ve chosen to depict it pulsing gracefully through the deep ocean, hypertrophied tentacle extended, just over its scientific name. This hydrozoan is a bathypelagic animal, meaning it’s found in the midnight zone of the ocean.
Name: Atolla vanhoeffeni
Described: In 1957 by F.S. Russel
Distribution: Bathypelagic and found in the depths of oceans all over the globe
Size: Grows up to 30mm, sometimes larger
Notes: A. vanhoeffeni has 20 regular arms and an extra long one called a hypertrophied tentacle. It’s currently believe this tentacle is used for catching prey. A. vanhoeffeni is also bioluminescent. When threatened, it puts on a very impressive flashing show of blue light. It’s currently believed that this flashing light is used to attract a larger predator than the one currently attacking the jelly. While the two large predators fight, the jellyfish can swim away.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.