Mauve stinger jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca). This jellyfish is found in the open ocean. The bowl-shaped bell has clumps of stinging cells (nematocysts

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Mauve stinger jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca). This jellyfish is found in the open ocean. The bowl-shaped bell has clumps of stinging cells (nematocysts), also found on its tentacles. As with all jellyfish, these are used to subdue prey such as fish, crustaceans or plankton. The prey is then brought to its mouth at the centre of the underside of the bell. Jellyfish are free-swimming aquatic invertebrates that are related to the sea anemones and corals. Jellyfish swim by contractions of their bell. P. noctiluca is observed to glow in the dark (phosphorescence). Its bell can reach up to 60 centimetres across. It is one of the few jellyfish to physically mate. Photographed in the Mediterranean Sea, off Alicante, Spain.

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Size: 5166px × 3448px
Photo credit: © ANGEL FITOR/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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