Pacific Sea Nettle

Chrysaora fuscescens

Pacific Sea Nettle

Chrysaora fuscescens

Other Common Names
West Coast Sea Nettle

Jelly Gallery

Other Common Names

West Coast Sea Nettle

At the Aquarium

Jelly Gallery

Appearance

Sea nettles have a distinctive golden-brown bell with a reddish tint. Their umbrella-like bodies, or bells, can grow to over 1 foot across. The bell has 24 long, ribbon-like tentacles ranging between 12 and 15 feet long that stream from the edges of the bell, and four long, frilly, oral arms that spiral from the center.

Habitat

Pacific sea nettles are found in the open ocean of the Pacific.

Diet

Sea nettles are carnivorous. Their stinging cells paralyze prey, such as other sea jellies, zooplankton, and copepods. They use their oral arms to shuttle the food to their digestive system.

Life History

The jelly releases eggs into the water which fertilize in the water column. Those eggs then hatch into ephyra and settle to the seafloor. The ephyra develop into small polyps. A polyp resembles a small sea anemone. Once the water conditions are just right the polyp strobilates. The polyp now resembles a stack of plates. Each “plate” in the stack is an identical clone of a jelly. Baby jellies, called ephyra, bud off of the polyp. Each ephyra that buds off a jelly then slowly grows into an adult jelly.

IUCN Status

Not Evaluated

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

The Pacific sea nettle eats zooplankton and smaller jellies. When eaten by larger animals it helps move nutrition up the food chain.

Sea jellies are known for their stings. A beached Pacific sea nettle may be able to sting an unsuspecting passerby if their tentacles are stepped on.

Most commonly found off the coast of California and Oregon. They are less common off the coasts of Japan, the Gulf of Alaska, and the Baja Peninsula.

Pacific sea nettles are one of the jelly species that may be seen washed up on the beach after a strong storm.

Tiny animals, like juvenile crabs and small fish, hide in the folds of the jelly, hitching a ride and eating the food particles captured on the tentacles

Sea nettles are invertebrates – they lack bones. Jellies have elementary nervous systems, akin to a net throughout their bodies. This allows the animals to detect light and scents in their surroundings.

Sea jellies are about 95% water.

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Citations & Other Resources

https://marinesanctuary.org/blog/creature-feature-pacific-sea-nettle/

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Pacific Sea Nettle

Pacific Sea Nettle

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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