Golden Sea Nettle

Chrysaora fuscescens = "Pacific sea nettle" or "West Coast sea nettle" that lives in ocean waters from British Columbia to Baja California Sur, Mexico. These nettles are carnivore that feed on zooplankton, salps, crustaceans, and pelagic snails. They prefer temperate to cool waters. These animals can be up to 3 feet (1 m) in diameter.

Figure 1. A group of golden sea nestles (image taken at the Aquarium of the Pacific in southern California). Their "tails" can be as long as 15 feet, and human contact with its produces painful stings. Their venom is not deadly to humans but getting “stung” by this animal is similar to a bee sting (or, in some cases, bee stings).

These animals swim by squeezing their bell and pushing water behind it. They also prefer to float with the bell “upside down” (Fig. 1).

Figure 2. Closeup of a swimming/floating Golden sea nettle. Image taken at the Aquarium of the Pacific in southern California.

     Classification

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Cnidaria

Class Scyphozoa

Order Semaeostomae

Family Pelagiidae

Genus Chrysaora 

Type Species C. fuscecens