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Black Sea Nettle
ON EXHIBIT:
Jellies
At the Aquarium
Natural History
The black sea nettle is considered a giant jelly; its distinctive purplish bell can reach over three feet (91 cm) in diameter; its lacy, pinkish oral-arms can reach nearly 20 feet (6 m) in length and its stinging tentacles 25 feet (7.6 m) or more. It probably lives in deeper, calmer waters but has appeared in large blooms in coastal areas off Southern California, most recently in 1999.
Conservation
Giant black sea nettles appeared in droves along the San Diego shoreline in the summer of 1989. Then they mysteriously disappeared. The giant drifters reappeared again ten years later, in the summer of 1999. Increased numbers of sea nettles may be an indication that human activities have changed the condition of the ocean. Increased organic material means more nutrients. More nutrients, plus fertilizers from farms, enrich the plankton, providing more food for jellies and allowing them to increase in number.
Cool Facts
The black sea nettle provides the Pacific butterfish with food and protection. The silvery butterfish feeds on the plankton gathered by the jelly, and when danger approaches, the butterfish actually hides inside the jelly’s bell.
The black sea nettle is a mysterious creature; during most years its whereabouts are unknown. Scientists just recently named this jelly in 1997, although pictures of the species were taken as early as 1926. Much about its behavior, distribution and life cycle remain a puzzle.
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Animal Facts
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ON EXHIBIT:
Jellies
- Scientific Name:
Chrysaora achlyos
- Habitat:
Coastal Waters
- Animal Type:
Invertebrates
- Diet:
plankton and other jellies
- Size:
to 3 feet (1 m) and oral arms extending to 20 feet (6 m)
- Range:
Mexico, southern Baja California to Monterey Bay
- Relatives:
Portuguese man-of-war, other jellies, sea anemones, coral; Family: Pelagiidae
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