Craspedacusta sowerbii

Craspedacusta sowerbii

Did you know that there are Jellyfish that don't live in the ocean? Now you do!

Today's species is Craspedacusta sowerbii, and it is found in calm freshwater bodies of water, like lakes, reservoirs, and slow moving rivers and streams.

These Jellyfish have actually have a distribution that spans the entire globe. They have been located on nearly every continent (sorry Antarctica) and in almost every single U.S. State. However, you won't see them constantly-- they pop up randomly, sometimes in bodies of water where they have never been seen before!

Craspedacusta sowerbii is able to move from place to place because during colder months their polyps contract and become podocysts. These Podocysts attach to other plants and animals that carry the Jellyfish to new places. And because they reproduce asexually, they are able to massively expand their populations very quickly.

IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : North and South America, Asia, Europe, Africa
Size : Diameter around 1in
Classification : Phylum : Cnidaria -- Class : Hydrozoa -- Order : Limnomedusae
Family : Olindiidae -- Genus : Craspedacusta -- Species : C. sowerbii
Image : Microscopy-UK

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