| Tiburonia granrojo | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Scyphozoa |
| Order: | Semaeostomeae |
| Family: | Ulmaridae |
| Subfamily: | Tiburoniinae Matsumoto et al., 2003 |
| Genus: | Tiburonia Matsumoto et al., 2003 |
| Species: | T. granrojo |
| Binomial name | |
| Tiburonia granrojo Matsumoto et al., 2003 |
|
Tiburonia granrojo, is a jellyfish of the family Ulmaridae discovered in 2003, and the only member of its genus yet identified. It was discovered by MBARI(Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute), and the lead marine biologist on the crew was Dr. George I. Matsumoto, Ph.D. Its genus name is Tiburonia because the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) the crew were using was called Tiburon, meaning "shark" in Spanish. Its species name was originally to be called "Big Ugly", but an unknown party denied it and renamed it granrojo, meaning "big red" in Spanish. It is one of the largest sea jellies and unusual in a number of ways. Tiburonia granrojo live at ocean depths of between 600 and 1500 metres and have been found across the Pacific Ocean in the Sea of Cortez, Monterey Bay, Hawaii and Japan. They can grow up to 75cm in diameter[1] , according to the California Academy of Sciences, and have thick fleshy oral arms in place of the long tentacles found in most jellies. The entire jellyfish is deep red in color.[2]
To date, only 23 members of the species have been found and only one, a small specimen (under 15 cm) has been retrieved for further study. Several high resolution videos of granrojo have been taken by remote controlled submarines. Its discovery was announced by Dr. Matsumoto and colleagues in Marine Biology in 2003.[3]