This is the extremely rare species of box jellyfish (Chirodectes) that has only been seen twice in history

A diver off the coast of Papua New Guinea captured footage of a rare and stunning box jellyfish. The spectacular sighting is extremely rare as this species has only been documented twice.

The beautiful jellyfish, which was first recorded on video, has four striped tentacle clusters trailing behind its transparent body. It has a bright red center ring and is called Chirodectes maculatus.

This is a very rare and elusive species of box jellyfish. "Saw a new species of jellyfish while diving today. It has cool markings and is a little bigger than a soccer ball, and they swim quite fast," the video's description was quoted by SINDOnews from Petapixel on Wednesday (31/8/2022).

Most box jellyfish are known to be venomous to humans, and some are even highly toxic, but it is unknown whether this particular species is dangerous. It was first discovered in 2005 by an Australian scientific team who captured one in 1997 and preserved it.

Although it has been seen before and is not entirely new to science, this species is so rare that it has only been seen twice.

This sighting is considered exceptional, especially as the footage is of high quality. It allows anyone to easily see this rare species of box jellyfish in its natural habitat. For scientists, it is an interesting subject to study one of these rare species.

Source: SINDOnews caption.