Five Texas Jellyfish—and Relatives—to Know – Texas Monthly
Although nobody can say for certain whether or not jellyfish blooms are rising alongside the Texas coast, ocean ecosystems around the globe are clearly changing into extra gelatinous. Here are the 5 commonest species discovered within the Gulf of Mexico, together with their sting rankings.
Moon Jelly
(Aurelia sp. 9 or Aurelia sp. new)
Clear aside from a four-leaf-clover form on their bells, moon jellies develop as massive as a Frisbee. These jellies brood their larvae of their frilly oral arms till the offspring are sufficiently old to swim off. Genetic information lately revealed that Texas is house to at the least two totally different moon jellies that look practically equivalent, a phenomenon often called cryptic speciation.
Sting severity: gentle to medium
Sea Nettle
(Chrysaora chesapeakei)
Like nettles vexing your ankles in a pasture, sea nettles pack a nasty sting. They could also be milky white or have rust-colored, pizza-wedge stripes. They have a basic jellyfish kind, with oral arms and tentacles that may grasp down two to a few instances so far as the bell is huge. They are commonest round Galveston Bay.
Sting severity: excessive
Cabbagehead
(Stomolophus meleagris)
Texans have their very own title for these jellyfish, which a lot of the world calls cannonballs for his or her spherical form. They are edible and in Georgia account for one of many largest fisheries, together with shrimp and crab. No business operations have opened in Texas, however you may see cabbageheads washed up on seashores, particularly close to Port Aransas.
Sting severity: gentle
Portuguese Man-of-War
(Physalia physalis)
Also referred to as bluebottles for the peacock-colored float. These animals are siphonophores, belonging to a sister group of gelata often called hydrozoans. What seems to be a single creature is definitely a group of people working collectively in a colony. If you see them within the water, steer clear as their sting might be very harmful and their tentacles don’t simply grasp down—they stretch out horizontally too.
Sting severity: excessive
Comb Jelly
(Mnemiopsis mccradyi)
Not technically jellyfish, these animals swim via rows of cilia that bend gentle into rainbows just like the grooves on the again of a CD. Despite their flimsy look, they’re voracious plankton predators. But to not fear, people are impervious to their weaponry, which consists of spring-loaded cells that seize onto their tiny prey with a gluey ball fairly than a sharp, poisoned microtubule like those that jellyfish deploy.
Sting severity: none
This article initially appeared within the June 2022 subject of Texas Monthly with the headline “Five Gelata to Know.” Subscribe immediately.
