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Description
Taken at the Vancouver Aquarium

Proper name: Aurelia aurita

These alien-looking creatures are named for their translucent, moonlike circular bells. Instead of long, trailing tentacles, moon jellies have a short, fine fringe (cilia) that sweeps food toward the mucous layer on the edges of the bells. Prey is stored in pouches until the oral arms pick it up and begin to digest it.

The coloration of a moon jelly often changes depending on its diet. If the jelly feeds extensively on crustaceans, it turns pink or lavender. An orange tint hints that a jelly's been feeding on brine shrimp.

The jellyfish is translucent, usually about 25–40 cm (10–16 in) in diameter, and can be recognized by its four horseshoe-shaped gonads, easily seen through the top of the bell.
Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean: Aurelia aurita are found near the coast, in mostly warm and tropical waters (but they can withstand temperatures as low as -6°C and as high as 31°C). They are prevalent in both inshore seas and oceans. Their habitat includes the coastal waters of all zones and they occur in huge numbers. They are known to live in brackish waters with as low a salt content as 0.6%. Decreased salinity in the water diminishes the bell curvature and vice versa. An optimum temperature for the animals is 9-19°C. Biomes: reef, tropical coastal, freshwater lake.

www.montereybayaquarium.org/an…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelia_…
marinebio.org/species.asp?id=2…
www.vanaqua.org/

Description
Taken at the Vancouver Aquarium

Proper name: Aurelia aurita

These alien-looking creatures are named for their translucent, moonlike circular bells. Instead of long, trailing tentacles, moon jellies have a short, fine fringe (cilia) that sweeps food toward the mucous layer on the edges of the bells. Prey is stored in pouches until the oral arms pick it up and begin to digest it.

The coloration of a moon jelly often changes depending on its diet. If the jelly feeds extensively on crustaceans, it turns pink or lavender. An orange tint hints that a jelly's been feeding on brine shrimp.

The jellyfish is translucent, usually about 25–40 cm (10–16 in) in diameter, and can be recognized by its four horseshoe-shaped gonads, easily seen through the top of the bell.
Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean: Aurelia aurita are found near the coast, in mostly warm and tropical waters (but they can withstand temperatures as low as -6°C and as high as 31°C). They are prevalent in both inshore seas and oceans. Their habitat includes the coastal waters of all zones and they occur in huge numbers. They are known to live in brackish waters with as low a salt content as 0.6%. Decreased salinity in the water diminishes the bell curvature and vice versa. An optimum temperature for the animals is 9-19°C. Biomes: reef, tropical coastal, freshwater lake.

www.montereybayaquarium.org/an…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelia_…
marinebio.org/species.asp?id=2…
www.vanaqua.org/