Sea Nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens)
Not all jellies sting, but the sea nettle does. It hunts tiny drifting animals by trailing those long tentacles and frilly mouth-arms, all covered with stinging cells. When the tentacles touch prey, the stinging cells paralyze it and stick tight. From there, the prey is moved to the mouth-arms and finally to the mouth, where it’s digested.
- Habitat: Open Waters
- Diet: young pollock, larval fishes, zooplankton, other jellies
- Size: bell to approx 17.7 in (45 cm) in diameter, mouth-arms 12 to 15 ft (3.6 to 4.6 m) long
- Range: coastal waters off Alaska to California, Japan, Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea
(via: Monterey Bay Aquarium)
