Purple-striped Jelly

Chrysaora colorata

The Purple-striped Jelly is a large Jellyfish that is named for the violet radial strip
es that cover its bell. They can be found off of the coast of California, primarily in the Monterey Bay area.

These Jellies can grow to a pretty good size-- their bell diameter can measure upwards of two feet! As adults they have the aforementioned Bell Stripes, but as juveniles they have a more subdued coloration, with very dark tentacles. As the Jelly ages, the bell stripes appear but the tentacles lighten in color. And did you know that Purple-striped Jellies often have hitchhikers-- certain species of Cancer crab will hitch rides in the bell!

These critters are popular in Aquariums, but they never really reach the large sizes that are found in the wild.

IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Coastal California
Size : Bell up to 2.3ft (.7m) in diameter

Classification : Phylum : Cnidaria -- Class : Scyphozoa Order : Semaeostomeae
Family : Pelagiidae -- Genus : Chrysaora -- Species : C. colorata

Image : Captmondo

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