Mauve stinger jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca) tangled with plastic waste. The piece of plastic is at upper centre, just below the jellyfish's bell. This

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Mauve stinger jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca) tangled with plastic waste. The piece of plastic is at upper centre, just below the jellyfish's bell. This jellyfish is found in the open ocean. The bowl-shaped bell has clumps of stinging cells (nematocysts), also found on its tentacles. Plastic waste is typically not biodegradable and persists in the environment if not disposed of correctly. Plastic waste can have a severe long-term effect on the marine environment, both as large items that can choke and entangle animals, and as it breaks up into microscopic fragments that can enter the food chain. Photographed in the Mediterranean Sea.

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Size: 3867px × 5794px
Photo credit: © ALEXANDER SEMENOV/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, 1, animal, aquatic, biological, biology, cnidarian, coelenterate, entangled, environmental, europe, european, fauna, fragment, impact, invertebrate, invertebrates, jellyfish, marine, mauve, mediterranean, nature, noctiluca, ocean, pelagia, plastic, pollution, purple, rubbish, sea, single, stinger, swimming, tangled, temperate, underwater, waste, water, wildlife, zoological, zoology