Jellyfish of the Cape Fear Region, NC
All jellyfish species, including Ctenophora and a few deep sea species, that may be encountered in the Cape Fear region.
Atlantic Sea Nettle
Chrysaora quinquecirrha (commonly named the Atlantic sea nettle or East Coast sea nettle) is a widely distributed species of jellyfish that inhabits tropical and subtropical parts of the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. It is frequently seen along the East Coast of the United States, such as the Chesapeake Bay. It is smaller than the Pacific sea nettle, and has more ...more ↓
Cannonball Jelly
The cannonball jellyfish (Stomolophus meleagris), also known as the cabbagehead jellyfish, is a species of jellyfish in the family Stomolophidae. Its common name derives from its similarity to a cannonball in shape and size. Its dome-shaped bell can reach 25 cm (10 in) in diameter and the rim is sometimes colored with brown pigment. Underneath the body is a cluster of ...more ↓
Mushroom Jelly
Rhopilema verrilli (class Scyphozoan) is the scientific name for the mushroom jellyfish, or mushroom cap jellyfish. They are cnidarian invertebrates distinguished by their mushroom-shaped medusae. The species does not have any tentacles; however, they still have stinging cells, called nematocysts, within their bells, which can produce mild stings to humans.
Australian Spotted Jelly
Phyllorhiza punctata is a species of jellyfish, also known as the floating bell, Australian spotted jellyfish or the white-spotted jellyfish. It is native to the West Pacific from Australia to Japan, but has been introduced widely elsewhere. It feeds primarily on zooplankton. P. punctata generally can reach up to 50 centimetres (20 in) in bell ...more ↓
Pink Meanie
Drymonema larsoni (also known as the "pink meanie") is a species of jellyfish belonging to the class Scyphozoa. Following a mass sighting in 2000 in the Gulf of Mexico, the species and the rest of its genus were put in their own family, a new subset of the true jellyfish.
Lined Water Jelly
Rhacostoma atlanticum is a species of aequoreid hydrozoans. The species has been reported from the Atlantic coastline of the North America, Colombia, West and Central Africa. Polyp stage is unknown.
Atolla Jelly
Atolla wyvillei, also known as Atolla jellyfish or Coronate medusa, is a species of deep-sea crown jellyfish (Scyphozoa: Coronatae). It lives in oceans around the world. Like many species of mid-water animals, it is deep red in color. This species was named in honor of Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, chief scientist on the Challenger expedition.
Jewel Jelly
Liriope is a genus of hydrozoan in the family Geryoniidae. It contains only one species, Liriope tetraphylla.
Helmet Jelly
The helmet jellyfish (Periphylla periphylla) is a luminescent, red-colored jellyfish of the deep sea, belonging to the order Coronatae of the phylum Cnidaria.
Turritopsis nutricula
Turritopsis nutricula is a small jellyfish that once reaching adulthood, can transfer its cells back to childhood. This adaptive trait likely evolved in order to extend the life of the individual. Several different species of the genus Turritopsis were formerly classified as T. nutricula, including the "immortal jellyfish" which is now classified as T. ...more ↓
Muggiaea atlantica
Muggiaea atlantica is a species of small hydrozoan jellyfish, a siphonophore in the family Diphyidae. It is a cosmopolitan species occurring in inshore waters of many of the world's oceans, and it has colonised new areas such as the North Sea and the Adriatic Sea. It is subject to large population swings, and has been held responsible for the death of farmed salmon in Norway. ...more ↓
Bassia bassensis
Bassia is a monotypic siphonophore genus in the family Abylidae. The genus only contains the bioluminescent species Bassia bassensis.
Portuguese Man o' War
The Atlantic Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis), also known as the man-of-war, or floating terror, is a marine hydrozoan of the family Physaliidae found in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Its venomous tentacles deliver a painful sting, which on extremely rare occasions has been fatal to humans. Despite its outward appearance, ...more ↓
Blue Button
Porpita porpita, commonly known as the blue button, is a marine organism consisting of a colony of hydroids found in tropical and sub-tropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. Although it is superficially similar to a jellyfish, each apparent individual is actually a colony of hydrozoan polyps. The blue button is a Chondrophore, which is a group ...more ↓
Sea Wasp
Alatina alata, often called a sea wasp, is a species of box jellyfish found in the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean.
By-the-wind Sailor
Velella is a monospecific genus of hydrozoa in the Porpitidae family. Its only known species is Velella velella, a cosmopolitan free-floating hydrozoa that lives on the surface of the open ocean. It is commonly known by the names sea raft, by-the-wind sailor, purple sail, little sail, or simply Velella.
Four-handed Box Jelly
Chiropsalmus quadrumanus, commonly known as the four-handed box jellyfish, is a species of box jellyfish in class Cubozoa. It is found in the west Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. The sting is venomous and dangerous to humans, especially children.
Mauve Stinger
Pelagia noctiluca is a jellyfish in the family Pelagiidae. In Latin, pelagia means "of the sea", nocti stands for night and luca means light; thus, Pelagia noctiluca can be described as a marine organism with the ability to glow in the dark.
Sea Walnut
Mnemiopsis leidyi, the warty comb jelly or sea walnut, is a species of tentaculate ctenophore (comb jelly), originally native to the western Atlantic coastal waters. Three species have been named in the genus Mnemiopsis, but they are now believed to be different ecological forms of a single species M. leidyi by most zoologists.
Brown Comb Jelly
Beroe ovata is a comb jelly in the family Beroidae. It is found in the South Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and has been introduced into the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea. It was first described by the French physician and zoologist Jean Guillaume Bruguière in 1789.
Venus' Girdle
The Venus girdle, Cestum veneris, is a comb jelly in the family Cestidae. It is the only member of its genus, Cestum.
