North Pacific Ocean, April 17, 2007—Pink bell-shaped jellyfish cling to a newfound field of deep-sea vents discovered in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Costa Rica.
The "black smoker" vents—so called because of the dark, mineral-rich water that they spew—were found 8,500 feet (2,600 meters) below the ocean surface by a team of U.S. scientists.
The researchers named the site the Medusa hydrothermal vent field in honor of the vents' squishy pink denizens, which belong to an order of jellyfish known as Stauromedusae.
The jellies may be a species previously unknown to science, according to expedition team member Karen Von Damm from the University of New Hampshire.
"Nobody has seen types of this color before," she said.
"Each new vent sighting sparks fresh excitement, because each one is different," Von Damm added.
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