Jellyfishes

Moon Jelly
Moon Jelly - Aurelia aurita

The many creatures on this page are lumped together for the one trait they all have in common - they are all "jelly-like" - soft, gelatinous, and more-or-less transparent. Other than that, they are for the most part completely unrelated. True Jellyfishes, Hydromedusae, and Siphonophores are in the phylum Cnidaria, related to bottom-dwelling Hydroids, Sea Anemones, and corals. Comb Jellies are in the phylum Ctenophora, and are completely unrelated to jellyfishes, as are Sea Butterflies and Corollas, which are mollusks. Salps are free-swimming tunicates, more closely related to us than to any of these other creatures.

Cnidarian lifecycle
Cnidarian lifecycle - in this case, a hydroid. Others are similar.
cnidarian stinger
The actual stinging apparatus of a cnidarian is microscopic - specially developed cells. That doesn't mean they can't hurt you!

Small harmless hydromedusae also appear sporadically in freshwater. There are also some types of freshwater jellyfish, but not around here. The rest of the ( non-cnidarian ) creatures on this page are unrelated, sharing only their drifting lifestyles.


Jellyfishes
Moon Jellies Aurelia aurita (left) and
Red Jelly Cyanea capillata (right)

Jellyfishes are free-swimming relatives of corals, anemones, and hydroids. In fact, in many cases, they are the same species, just in a different stage of life! Not all medusas ( as jellyfishes are called ) have a corresponding polyp stage, and likewise, not all polyps have a corresponding medusa stage, but most alternate generations in each form. Small jellies ( up to 1" across ) are most likely the medusa stage of some hydroid, while large jellies are usually the dominant stage of a species in which the polyp stage is almost absent. Even anemones have a periodic medusa stage, although it is infrequently observed.

Although jellyfish can swim slowly, they are largely at the mercy of the tides and currents, and at times large numbers are concentrated into bays and may be stranded on beaches.


Sea Wasp

Although superficially similar to jellyfishes, hydromedusae are more closely related to sessile hydroids. They are much firmer and sturdier in body than jellyfishes. Most are small ( less than 1 inch in diameter ) and do not sting. Others, such as the large and very dangerous Sea Wasp ( 9", right ) do.

hydromedusae

Portuguese Man-O-War

Siphonophores are free-floating or swimming colonial hydroids. All siphonophores are predatory and should be treated with respect for their venomous sting. Some of the individual animals along the length of the colony provide tentacles for defense (dactylozooids) and food capture, while others may function as swimming bells (nectophores), aid flotation (pneumatophore), provide additional defense (bracts), digest prey (gastrozooids), or serve for reproductive functions (gonozooids.) Whether siphonophores are single individuals or colonies of well-integrated polymorphic hydroid and medusoid individuals is a matter of debate among specialists.


Comb Jelly

You cannot go diving in New Jersey waters without seeing Comb Jellies. Up close, rainbow-like rows of tiny beating hairs called cilia may be seen - the Comb Jelly's only means of propulsion. Comb jellies do not sting, but they are still voracious predators, feeding on anything they can engulf. At night they may phosphoresce - watch the boat wake as agitated Comb Jellies flash in the dark like depth charges. Cnidarians are exclusively marine, although some are tolerant of brackish water as well.


Naked Sea Butterfly

Naked Sea Butterflies Clione limacina resemble angels. They have a spindle-shaped body up to 1 inch long that is bluish and transparent, with pink to red-yellow areas. The shell is absent. The head is well developed and clearly evident because of an indentation on the upper part of the body. The body has robust flaps ( mantle lobes ) that are used for propulsion. Although it looks like a jellyfish, the Naked Sea Butterfly is a gastropod mollusk, related to snails and sea slugs, and does not sting.


Horned Salp

Thalia democratica

Although they may superficially resemble swimming siphonophores, salps are actually free-living tunicates. There are 6 genera of salps and all are transparent.

Tunicates are much more advanced in the evolutionary scheme of things than jellyfishes, having, for example, a circulatory system. The larvae actually even have several features in common with vertebrates, including the precursor of a spinal cord, but these are lost in the sac-like adults. Salps do not sting.

Drifting In A Jellyfish Sea

Purple Jellyfish
Cover: Purple Jellyfish - Pelagia noctiluca

Text and images by Herb Segars

It's late summer and I am 20 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean off New Jersey. I am wearing long underwear, a waterproof ( and leak-proof, I hope ) rubber suit, 40 pounds of dive gear and a 30-pound weight belt to keep me from bobbing to the surface. A slight current forces me to grip the anchor line with one hand and take photographs with the other. I see a possible subject 6 feet away and watch as it drifts closer.

In the blink of an eye, I have set my focus and triggered the camera. The two underwater flashes attached to the camera fire and I hope that the results look as good as I envision. Between frames, I monitor my air supply and my time underwater. Thousands of planktonic subjects float by in the hour that I am below. Today turns out to he a good day - I run out of film before my time or air expires. Back on the boat, I dry off, change film and wait the required 1+ hours before making my next underwater photographic journey.

Many-ribbed Hydromedusa
A Many-ribbed Hydromedusa of the Aequorea species, with a hitchhiker.
Ovate Comb Jelly
Ovate Comb Jelly - Beroe ovata
Lion's Mane Jellyfish
Lion's Mane Jellyfish Cyanea capillata being eaten by a Cunner Tautogolabris adspesus
White Cross Hydromedusa
White Cross Hydromedusa - Staurophora mertensi
Many-ribbed Hydromedusa
Many-ribbed Hydromedusa of the Aequorea species
Leidy's Comb Jelly
Leidy's Comb Jelly - Mnemiopsis leidyi
Chain Siphonophore
Chain Siphonophore - Stephanomia cara
Atlantic Corolla
Atlantic Corolla - Carolla calceola
Ovate Comb Jelly
Ovate Comb Jelly - Beroe ovata
Atlantic Corolla
Atlantic Corolla - Carolla calceola

Capturing the underwater realm on film is a long and painstaking process. All my underwater work off New Jersey happens in the spring, summer and fall. In a good year, I am able to make 70 dives and shoot 70 rolls of film. When strong winds and rough seas bring a season of had weather, the number of dives and rolls of film taken drop to fewer than 20. In comparison, on a typical topside nature photography trip, I can shoot 70 rolls of film in a week.

This article first appeared in New Jersey Outdoors - Summer 1999

Purple Jellyfish
Purple Jellyfish - Pelagia noctiluca
Herb Segars Photography

Bluefish

Pomatomus saltatrix

profile by John McClain, Principal Fisheries Biologist

Range:
The Bluefish occurs in temperate and warm waters of the western Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Uruguay, off the West African shelf, in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, in the Indian Ocean, and off Tasmania and Australia. In the United States, there are two major fishing areas, Cape Cod Bay to Cape Lookout and Cape Canaveral to Pompano Beach.

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