Chrysaora fuscescens pacific sea nettle
saw many in the calm water off the island
As we were about to make our entry, someone came up and asked Brenna, "What's it like out there?" "Have you been to the aquarium?" she asked. "It's like that." (No, not like that). I might ammend it with "but much murkier." Sea nettles were out in force today, and it really was a bit like diving in one of the Monterey Bay Aquarium exhibits... except stingier.
Chrysaora fuscescens (generally referred to as the Pacific sea nettle or the West Coast sea nettle) is a sea nettle, a common variety of true jellyfish (scyphozoan), found in the Pacific Ocean mostly near the coast from California to Alaska (perhaps also to Japan), although the species was originally described from individuals collected far offshore in the open North Pacific. Some may suspect that the population is increasing because of human influences to coastal regions, but...
