Getting a Jelly out of Salp Soup - Observation of the Week, 3/19/24

Our Observation of the Week is this Flag-mouth Jelly (in the genus Diplulmaris), seen off of New Zealand by @millamuck!

“I studied marine biology and although I didn't end up working in that area, I continue to love the water,” says Camilla Caton. “I joke that you could put me in a bathtub with some sea monkeys and I'd be happy.”

Camilla credits her father for her instilling in her a passion for nature.

From when I was little we'd hang on the couch and watch nature documentaries, get up at 4am to go to a local estuary and watch the native birds arrive, visit aquariums, zoos and reptile parks.

On March 3rd of this year, Camilla and her diving club took to the water, which is when she spotted the jelly you see here.

Our local dive club had a lot of students that day, so a dive buddy and I decided to toddle off and try a different spot. I'd done a couple of night dives there previously but hadn't been there during the day. The whole dive was absolutely incredible. Some parts were salp soup, not too many jellies, but the Diplumaris was the first of three jellies I'd not seen before.

If you take a look at the observation page, you’ll see that Camilla’s find generated some excitement. Luca Davenport-Thomas (@luca_dt), a marine biology student in New Zealand and avid iNatter, was one of the identifiers, and I contacted him for some insight into the find. It looks like the jury’s still out on a confirmed species ID, but Luca said the observation could be significant.

I had thought it could be Diplulmaris antarctica since that habitat isn't too far away. And I don't think they have been seen beyond Antarctic waters, which is quite exciting. But I never realised there is actually a different species of Diplulmaris, D. malayensis which is apparently very rare. As part of the plankton bloom @millamuck saw (and I sadly missed) there were also Phacellophora jellyfish (I found a dead one at the same spot the next day after most of the plankton had gone. Which is a very southern record since they aren't known from Antarctica). It makes me think the rare organisms in the bloom like the Diplulmaris could instead have been from up North so could actually be Diplulmaris malayensis!

Speaking of Luca, Camilla (above with her diving club, all the way on the left with the tattooed arm) jokingly says she joined iNat partly because of his encouragement. “I kept getting pressured to upload my photos onto here! Mostly by @luca_dt…

I like posting unusual stuff or sometimes if I'm just stoked with a photo!! I use iNaturalist for ID a lot, and will quite often research what species I could find when I travel to new spots.

I only got my open water in February last year, and am up to 180 dives already! Best thing I've ever done. Loving taking photos at the moment. Mostly macro but am only just starting on that journey.

(Photo of Camilla and the diving club taken by Claire Murphy. Some quotes have been lightly edited for clarity.)

- you can follow Camilla on Instagram here!

- “salp soup” is a real thing. Here’s an article (and some video) about a bloom off of New Zealand back in 2015.

- @luca_dt’s amazing siphonophore photo was an Observation of the Week back in 2022!

Posted on March 19, 2024 06:28 PM by