Mysterious billowing sea creature spotted 5,000ft below the ocean's surface by camera attached to oil rig

Deep sea species was seen gliding through the Gulf of Mexico

Hexagonal pattern on membrane-like skin helped finally identify it

It came from the depths of the ocean. A strange, billowing deep-sea creature that unexpectedly floated into view on an oil rig camera.



The mysterious sea creature was spotted 5,000ft deep in the Gulf of Mexico two years ago, but it has only just been identified by marine biologists.



A quick glimpse of a hexagonal pattern on its billowing skin helped a team of scientists figure out that the strange creature was a huge jellyfish.

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Mysterious: This billowing sea creature was spotted near an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico

Curious: The membrane-like creature was filmed at depths of 5,000ft

The rarely seen species which can grow to about 2ft wide is known as deepstaria reticulum or placental jellyfish.



After it glided into view of the rig, the camera operator moved the focus from the rig structure to the murky depths to try to get a closer look.



At first the jellyfish disappeared into the darkness of the deep sea, but it soon floated back into view.



It is more usually found in the cooler waters of the Antarctic that the Gulf of Mexico, which led many people to first suggest that the strangely shaped object could actually be a whale placenta.

When the footage was first released it led to widespread speculation on the internet as web users tried to determine what they were seeing.

A marine biologists from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Center finally confirmed that it was the placental jellyfish.

The species is seen so rarely alive and intact that scientists had to use old dive notes from the 1960s and 1980s to help identify it, Deep Sea News reported.

Markers: Its hexagonal pattern helped marine biologists to identify it as a placental jellyfish

Unusual: The jellyfish is rarely seen alive or intact, which made its sighting interesting to the science community

Deep sea mystery: The jellyfish had only a few identifying markers to help marine biologists name it

Unexpected: The jellyfish can grow to 2ft wide and is more commonly found in the Antarctic



















