|
Phylum | Cnidaria
| Hydroids, jellyfish, sea anemones & corals
|
| Class | Scyphomedusae |
Jellyfish |
| Authority |
(Forsskål, 1775) |
| Recent synonyms: |
None |
| Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland |
Pelagia noctiluca is an uncommon jellyfish around the British Isles but may be found anywhere over deep water off the west and north coasts (Russell, 1970).
|
| Habitat information | Pelagia noctiluca is an oceanic species widely distributed in warm and temperate waters. |
| Description | Pelagia noctiluca may grow to 10 cm in diameter. The medusa colour varies from pale red to mauve-brown or purple and the exumbrella surface is covered in pink or mauve nematocyst-bearing warts. The mushroom shaped, deep bell has 16 marginal lobes, eight marginal sense organs and eight, hair-like marginal tentacles. These thin tentacles may extend as far as 3 m. All tentacles on Pelagia noctiluca are covered in nematocysts. The manubrium bears four thick, frilled oral arms. This species has no sessile stage and the adults release juvenile medusae in the autumn. |
| Key identification features |
- Mushroom shaped bell.
- Exumbrella and tentacles are covered in pink or mauve nematocysts.
- 16 marginal lobes
- 8 marginal sense organs
- 8 hair-like marginal tentacles.
|
| Other images | The jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca.
Close up view of the jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca. |
| Additional information |
| Pelagia noctiluca feed mainly on pelagic ascidians and other small jellyfish (Hayward et al., 1996). Although the sting of Pelagia noctiluca is potent and painful, it is limited in time and extent (Williamson et al., 1996). |
) and expected (
) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)
