Jellyfish Species
A Beginner's Guide to Jellyfish Species
Most jellyfish species are not dangerous to humans; it is helpful to have a knowledge of what breeds you might see in your area, just to be sure.
One jellyfish common to the eastern United States coast is the cannonball jellyfish. It is also known by the names jellyball and cabbage head jelly. During the months of late summer and fall, large groups of this jellyfish species appear along the coastline and in areas where rivers meet the ocean. They are easy to identify, due to their white round bells that have a border of purple or brown. They don't have any tentacles; instead, they have a chunky, firm feeding apparatus that is formed where the oral arms join. Cannonballs are usually no larger than eight to ten inches across. Fisherman consider them pests, because they get caught in the nets and slow down their sorting of fish. Cannonballs are among the least dangerous jellies, in terms of venom.
Another common jellyfish is the mushroom jelly. It is similar enough to be sometimes thought to be a cannonball jelly, but is actually different in more than a few ways. Mushroom jellies can grow to ten to twenty inches across, and they don't have the colored band around their bell. They are also softer and flatter than the cannonball jelly. The mushroom jelly also does not have tentacles, but instead has the same type of feeding apparatus. But the mushroom jelly has long appendages, resembling fingers, that hang from the feeding apparatus. The mushroom is also not a dangerous jellyfish species for humans, and it is less of a problem for fishermen than the cannonball.
The southern moon jellyfish is one of the most easily recognized jellyfish species. It has a saucer-shaped bell that is transparent, and is easy to identify due to the four horse-shoe shaped pink gonads visible through the bell. This jelly usually reaches a diameter of about six to eight inches, but some larger members of the species have been known to exceed twenty inches in diameter. Researchers believe that there are several jellyfish species that are similar to the moon, but are now considered their own species. The moon jelly is not dangerously venomous; its sting can produce mild symptoms like a prickly sensation or mild burning. Usually only the immediate sting area is painful.
The lion's mane or winter jellyfish is more often seen in colder months of the North American year. It sports a six to eight-inch bell, which is saucer-shaped and has brownish-red oral arms and eight tentacle clusters underneath. This jellyfish species are moderate level stingers, and symptoms are more intense than if one is stung by the moon jelly. Pain is still relatively mild, and victims describe it as more a burning than a stinging.
These are some jellyfish you are likely to see in the waters off the United State's Atlantic coastline.