jelly of the month

february: PELAGIA NOCTILUCA pelagia noctiluca goes by many names, such as mauve stinger, purple-striped jelly, purple people eater etc. among the wide collection of names the most accurate is the ”night-light jellyfish”, as that is what its latin title translates to. the jellyfish has earned this name thanks to their ability to emit bioluminescence when they are stimulated by waves or turbulence; despite being a cnidarian, pelagia noctilucas dont have a polyp stage, they reproduce sexually only.
the mauve stinger has a painful but remotely dangerous sting to humans, however they have been recorded to wipe out whole fish farms. thanks to this violent behaviour they are very popular among marine biologists. Archive