About The Purple-Striped Jelly
Jellyfish are the major non-polyp form of individuals of the phylum Cnidaria. They are free-swimming marine animals consisting of a gelatinous umbrella-shaped bell and trailing tentacles. The bell can pulsate for locomotion, while stinging tentacles can be used to capture prey. Adult purple-striped jellies are silvery white with deep-purple bands. In certain seasons, they mysteriously appear near the shores of Monterey. They reproduce sexually to form planula larvae year round. These jellyfish can get up to 3 feet in diameter.
Diet
Their diet consists of mainly zooplankton, including copepods, larval fish, ctenophores, salps, other jellies, fish eggs.
Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidarian
Class: Scyphozoa
Order: Semaeostomeae
Family: Pelagiidae
Genus: Chrysaora
Species: colorata
Phylum: Cnidarian
Class: Scyphozoa
Order: Semaeostomeae
Family: Pelagiidae
Genus: Chrysaora
Species: colorata
Location & Habitat
Purple-striped jellyfish have a wide distribution in all warm and temperate open water, and is found in the Bermuda, Mediterranean sea, the Adriatic Sea, off the Coast of California and the Atlantic Ocean. This Jellyfish is exclusively marine, inhabiting mostly coastal waters.
Human Impact
The Purple Striped jellyfish is commonly used in aquariums.
Interesting Facts
- The purple-striped jelly's life cycle was first discovered in its entirety at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Since divers have seen ocean sunfish eating these jellies, we know some fishes must be immune to the sting
- Although large specimens are typically endowed with very distinct purple pigment patterns, younger individuals have a pale pinkish bell that lacks the dramatic stripes and patterns of adults
- The Purple Striped Jelly is also called the Mauve Stinger
- It will bioluminesce when disturbed
Sources
- https://sites.google.com/a/richland2.org/ivey-league-animal-wiki/invertebrates/cnidaria/purple-striped-jellyfish-by-imani-p
- http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animal-guide/invertebrates/purple-striped-jelly
- http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/MarineInvertebrateZoology/Pelagianoctiluca.html