A quest

Pacific Sea Nettle

Chrysaora fuscenscens

Pacific sea nettles are one of the most recognizable jellyfish in the world. They swim in the Pacific Ocean, most commonly in California and Oregon. They also can pack quite a punch with their stingers, so watch out in the fall and winter: While they live in open waters during the summer, they stay closer to shallow bays and harbors in the fall, winter and spring.

What do Pacific Sea Nettles look like? They are a type of jellyfish with 24 maroon tentacles and a yellow to reddish-brown body called a bell. The tentacles can be as long as 15 feet. They are more than 90% water.

What is unique about their name? According to the Aquarium of the Pacific, the name chrysaora is from Greek mythology. Chrysaor was the son of Posodian and Medusa and his name meant ‘golden falchion,’ referring to a sword that can cut through armor. The sea nettles sting can also cut through a lot, hence the name.

What do they eat? Zooplankton, other jellyfish. They capture their prey by stinging and paralyzing it using stingers called nematocysts on their tentacles, then scooping it up into their mouth. They have 24 tentacles that can grow up to 30 inches.

What does a sea nettle family look like? Eggs hatch as larvae. They never know their parents. The larvae, similar to a microscopic, swimming flatworm, then attaches itself to a spot and becomes stationary for the next stage of its life, when it is a polyp. It looks similar to a sea anemone or a coral during this phase. During this time, it makes identical copies of itself. These then become detached and grow into ephyra, which can float away although they are not fully developed jellyfish. Interestingly, the polyp can continue to live and clone off more ephyra and may even outlive the ephyra. The ephyra eventually grows into an adult Pacific Sea Nettle, called a medusa.

How long do they live? Six months to a year as adults, much longer in polyp phase.

Are they endangered? N/A. They are not identified on the IUCN list.

What else is interesting about Pacific Sea Nettles? While sea nettles cannot see like we can, they do have eye spots on their tentacles that help them distinguish between light and dark. Also, their sting is similar to that of a bee sting – ouch. It usually does not cause serious harm to humans.