The fried egg jellyfish, aka egg-yolk jellyfish, is quite a large jellyfish from the Phacellophoridae family that are found in many parts of the world’s oceans. They get their name from their appearance. They literally look like a sunny-side up egg floating in the water. These jellyfish are not currently evaluated by the IUCN due in part to their abundance and wide distribution. These critters make up the diet of many oceanic animals and while they sometimes can be considered a nuisance, they are a beneficial addition to the world’s oceans.
First the Stats…
Scientific name: Phacellophora camtschatica
Weight: Seeing as they are up to 95% water, their weight isn’t measured
Length: Up to a 24 inch bell, and up to 20 foot long tentacles
Lifespan: Up to 6 months
Now on to the Facts!
1.) They possess 16 clusters of up to a few dozen tentacles each that can measure up to 20 feet in length. Each tentacle is equipped with stinging nematocysts. Nematocysts are basically tiny harpoons that fire out, injecting toxins and paralyzing their prey
2.) They prey on gelatinous zooplankton and smaller jellyfish, that become ensnared within their tentacles.
3.) Food is digested by digestive enzymes in the gastrovascular cavity, then broken-down food is distributed throughout these jellyfish by ciliary action.
4.) Due to their generally weak sting many symbionts and parasites including small crustaceans such as larval crabs and some Amphipoda regularly ride on the jellyfish’s bell and even steal food from its oral arms and tentacles.
5.) A symbiotic relationship exists between the crabs and the host jellyfish in that the crabs feast on the invasive amphipods, but these crabs also feast upon the tentacles of these jellyfish as well. As the crabs develop into instars, they feed even more on their host.
But wait, there’s more on the fried egg jellyfish!
6.) Jellies don’t have respiratory organs like gills, lungs, or a trachea. Instead, they respire by diffusing oxygen from the water through the thin membrane covering their body.
7.) During their life cycle, they alternate between an asexual benthic polyp stage attached to piers and rocks and a sexual planktonic medusa stage that reproduces in the water column; both males and females occur in the planktonic form.
Did you know…?
Their sting, while generally not potent to humans can cause discomfort and therefor it is not recommended to touch them.
8.) The life cycle starts with the eggs being fertilized, then developing into planulae that are covered in cilia (tiny hairs). These planulae swim for up to 5 days before settling by attaching to the ocean bottom and transforming, or metamorphosing, into the polyp (scyphistomae) stage.
9.) Once in the polyp stage, the scyphistomae undergoes a series of 2-, 4-, 8-, and 16- tentacled stages of development, each representing a change in the overall shape of the calyx and symmetry among the tentacles.
10.) When the polyp is mature, with up to 44 tentacles present, asexual proliferation occurs via side budding, 1 bud per polyp, and strobilating. During strobilation, the polyp is lengthened and thinned out while tentacles are shortened and thickened, then mature ephraye are released. An ephraye is an immature medusoid stage of a scyphozoan jellyfish once it breaks off from its segmenting polyp.
But wait, there’s still more on the fried egg jellyfish!
11.) As soon as the ephyrae are released, a cruciform mouth is present with nematocyst batteries scattered throughout. As ephraye develop, the tentacles elongate and become filiform (threadlike).
12.) After approximately 9 months, sexual maturity is achieved and reproduction can be accomplished within the water column. Their lifecycle then repeats all over again.
13.) Sea turtles, pelagic (open sea) fish, and over 50 species of marine birds all prey on these jellies.
14.) These jellyfish don’t swim, but rather drift with the ocean’s current.
Now a Short Fried Egg Jellyfish Video!
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Some source material acquired from: Wikipedia & IUCN
Photo credit: Isiwal
