Water Jelly (Aequorea victoria)

Other Names: Crystal jelly, Many-ribbed hydromedusa

Description: These clear jellies commonly wash up on Cannon beach in the late summer and early fall. They have a relatively flat wide bell, up to 12 cm across, covered in lines extending from the center to the outer edge. Although water jellies have tentacles, they are not always visible when washed ashore.

Habitat: Water jellies are commonly found in British Columbia, The Puget Sound, and other estuaries and bays in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California. Although they are a pelagic species, they are tend to concentrate near shore.

Diet: Like many jellies, this species eats zooplankton and larval fish. Due to the nematocysts (stinging cells) in the tentacles of this jelly, it is not preyed upon by many species, however, sunfish, nudibranchs and other jellies do occasionally eat water jellies.

Tide Pool Tidbits:

• Water jellies have the ability to bioluminesce, meaning that they can produce light and glow in the dark.

• Biological studies often use the green florescent protein that causes water jellies to bioluminesce as a marker device.

Reference: OIMB, Bioluminesce, Walla Walla