Mangrove box jelly
Tripedalia cystophora
- Not on exhibit
- Animal type
- Invertebrates
- Ecosystem
- Coastal waters
- Relatives
- Sea wasp; Family: Tripedaliidae
- Diet
- Crustaceans, copepods
- Range
- Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean from Florida to Puerto Rico
- Size
- Up to 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) diameter
Meet the mangrove box jelly
That square-shaped bell gives the box jelly its name. It’s one of the smallest jellies in the world—an adult grows to about the size of a grape.
Natural history
While other box jellies can have lethal stings, the mangrove box jelly is harmless to humans. This jelly faces its greatest danger from humans, due to habitat destruction.
Conservation
The mangrove box jelly lives in tropical mangrove forests in Central America. The larvae settle on mangrove roots and form polyps. Adult jellies live in between the roots of the trees, searching for copepods to eat.
Mangrove forests are among the most threatened ecosystems on our planet. They’re cleared for development, agriculture, and fish and shrimp farms. Pollution and sediment flow from land into these shallow coastal habitats, threatening the diverse marine life that lives there. Without this nurturing habitat, it's unlikely this tiny jelly would survive.
Cool facts
- Unlike most jellies, which can merely sense light or dark, the mangrove box jelly has multiple sets of eyes that it uses to help it navigate toward groups of copepods. Each set of eyes is called a rhopalium. There are two complex eyes—each with a lens, cornea and retina—and one or more simple eyes in each rhopalium.
Up next in coastal waters
Animal
Brown pelican
This majestic bird has a distinctive large pouch that hangs from the lower half of its long, straight bill.
Keep exploring
Animal
Sea otter
Beyond their cute faces and fluffy fur, sea otters play an irreplaceable role in their coastal habitats.