Chase Stoudt

Purple Striped Jelly

Chrysaora colorata

Phylum Cnidaria, Class Scyphozoa, Order Semeaeostomeae, Family Pelagiidae

Distribution

Chrysaora colorata has a limited range, mostly spanning the coast of California. (3)

Habitat

The juveniles inhabit nearshore habitats, where they spend their time in “nurseries”. As an adult they are found in pelagic waters offshore. (4)

Reproduction

Jellyfish are dioecious, meaning there are defined male and female members. C. colorata’s life starts as sperm and eggs. The male releases the sperm into the water column and eggs are fertilized inside the mother.

Life Cycle

The fertilized egg metamorphizes into a planula larvae. This planula will swim until it finds a substrate that it can land on and become a sessile animal. This new fixed version is called a scyphistoma, and undergoes a process called strobilation. The polyp then forms an ephrya, which is an immature medusa. The immature medusa then feeds on phytoplankton until it grows into the mature form we recognize. The species Cancer gracilis(cancer crab) is at times found clinging to the medusa, even sometimes inside it’s gut. They live with the jelly until they are ready to drop off and live in a benthic habitat. (2)

Food Habits

Mostly they feed on zooplankton. Their diet contains copepods, ctenophores, salps, and eggs from fish. It feeds using its tentacles which are armed with powerful nematocysts. The prey is then moved to the mouth for digestion. (1)

Economic Importance

There is currently no known commercial value. Most divers look forward to seeing them on dives and certain dives are based around this. (4)

References

1.) Collins, AG, Gerswin, LA. 2002. Journal of Natural History. A preliminary phylogeny of Pelagiidae (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa), with new observations of Chrysaora Colorata comb. Nov. 36:127-148. 10-13-05

2.) Generalized life cycle of scyphozoan jellyfishes. Mike Dawson. http://www2.eve. Ucdavis.edu/mndawson/tS/Biol?Ecol?LifeHistory/ScyphozoaLH.html 5/3/2007

3.) http://jellieszone.com/pelagia.htm. 5/3/2007

4.) Purple-striped jelly. Monteray Bay Aquarium. 2007 http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/living_species?default.asp?hOri=1&inhab=441 5/3/2007

(3)