Joan J. Soto-Angel

Happy #worldjellyfishday, everyone 🪼🪼🪼!

Jellyfish (and their blooms) are a fundamental part of marine ecosystems, significantly contributing to carbon transport and storage. An ocean without jellyfish would not be a healthy ocean.

@universitetsmuseet.bsky.social @unibergen.bsky.social

Happy Ctenophore Day!
These glowing ocean drifters look like jellyfish but aren’t! They’re comb jellies, shimmering creatures that light up the sea with rows of beating cilia 💙🌈
Which species can you identify? 👀 Most are raised in @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social lab
#CtenophoreDay #CombJelly #Ctenophore

We just wrote a blog post on our recent Antarctic adventure with @ub.edu @icmcsic.bsky.social at the the Invertebrate Collections blog @universitetsmuseet.bsky.social @unibergen.bsky.social.
Take a look here:
invertebrate.w.uib.no/2025/07/21/a...
Spoiler alert: cool pics of #Antarctic #Hydrozoa🪼🪸

Excited we played a small part in this amazing work out now in @nature.com. We established a ctenophore culture from a single individual through self-fertilization to reduce heterozygosity levels. Named them "Arnau" & they lived happily for 2 years 😂 @joanjsoto.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social

Rathkea octopunctata

I do not! They never cease to amaze me 🤩.

Modified WP3 net for jellyfish sampling

Here's some of the 🪼🪼🪼 beauties we found so far during the XIX Spanish Antarctic expedition on board BIO Hesperides. Next net deployments will be seriously deep 🤩. We are crossing our fingers (and toes) for some cool specimens!
@universitetsmuseet.bsky.social @unibergen.bsky.social

YouTube video by MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) Grace under pressure: How membranes help comb jellies thrive in the deep

Excited about this new video that explains our research on how comb jelly membranes function under extreme pressure of the deep-sea.
Made by 1st author Jacob Winnikoff & Kyra Schlining for @mbarinews.bsky.social 🦑🧪🌊
Just in time for @dsbsoc.bsky.social! #ctenophore
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7A0...

Grace under pressure ✨️💫⁠

Comb jellies are some of the most dazzling and depth-diverse denizens of the sea. Using MBARI's advanced deep-sea robots, researchers revealed how membranes help comb jellies thrive in the deep.

Learn more: youtu.be/e7A0hZ8mBtE?...

Ready for a new #Antarctic adventure on board BIO Hesperides @csic.es . During the next 6 weeks, we'll be looking for (bi)polar #jellyfish🪼 and #polyps🪸 for project Pole2Pole + the Invertebrate Collections🦀🐚🦑🪱 of the University Museum of Bergen, @UiB. #Hype4Hydrozoa

In honour of #Antarctica day (and my first ever post on here) I'm sharing one of my favourite #photos of this truly amazing place taken during the summer #sea #ice minima last year.

In this image, three resting seals are dwarfed by a capsized iceberg in the Bellingshausen Sea.

#photography

Thank you! 😃

Quote post with a ctenophore!

Here's a sea gooseberry, Pleurobrachia pileus (bonus: tiny parasitic trematode).

#Ctenophores
#InverteFest🪸🪼

Medusas inmortales capaces de volver al estado larvario Aunque existen algunas especies capaces de ralentizar el envejecimiento, no es tan común encontrar un animal que pueda rejuvenecer. Los científicos han descubierto cómo lo hacen, y sobre todo, por qué...

Proud to see our findings on reverse development in Mnemiopsis leidyi echoed by National Geographic🤩🤩🤩. Check out our @pnas.org article: pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2411499121 #Ctenophores @UiB @msarscentre.bsky.social @pawelburkhardt.bsky.social

The curious case of the comb jelly Joan Soto-Angel and Pawel Burkhardt describe a comb jelly with the ability to reverse its development to an earlier stage of life.

The curious case of the comb jelly | Science Sessions | PNAS www.pnas.org/post/podcast...

Listen to our podcast where we describe a #ctenophore with the ability to reverse its development to an earlier stage of life.

@joanjsoto.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social @pnas.org #rejuvenation

Thanks, Paula! Bon Nadal per a tu també! 🎄🎄🎄

Hydroid colonies resembling Christmas trees with ascidians at their base.

Hydroid colonies resembling christmas trees with ascidians at their base.

For those feeling Christmassy🎅, here's some aglaopheniid hydroids🎄 with ascidians and corals at their base. Looks like someone in the reef will have lots of gifts 🎁 this year. #Hype4Hydrozoa

Thank you! 😃😃😃

Polyp of Corymorpha being photographed in a kreisel tank

Thank you! They are all "studio" pictures, taken in small aquariums/kreisel tanks. Here's the making off⬇️

🪼Jellies are back🪼! Happy to announce that our exhibition #JellyfishUnveiled has been extended until January 26th. The exhibit is a joint effort between the Manet Team at @UiB and @msarscentre.bsky.social. Come and join us at the stunning Natural History Museum in Bergen. @Artsdatabanken

Hi Mónica, could you please add me to the Jellyfish Research 🪼🪼 starter pack/list? Many thanks!

Could you please add me too? Also to the Marine Biology one. Many thanks!

Polyp of Corymorpha nutans producing hundreds of tiny medusae

Here's a beautiful polyp of Corymorpha nutans producing hundreds of tiny medusae. While polyps are usually smaller than jellyfish, this species have rather large polyps (ca. 15 cm) and rather small medusae (< 1 cm). Follow for more!

The siphonophore Physophora hydrostatica

The hydromedusa Euphysa flammea

Hi @bsky.app! I just landed here and thought I'd share these beauties. I'm a marine biologist working at the Natural History Museum in Bergen🇸🇯. My work? Exploring the diversity and ecology of polar❄️ jellies🪼 and polyps🪸. These are some of the creatures we usually find in Norway. Follow for more!