Floating bell
Phyllorhiza punctata
37.6631, -0.721021
Field Notes
Description:
It is a large jellyfish, with a rounded umbrella, measuring 45 to 50 centimeters in diameter. It is clear, with evenly distributed crystalline white spots. It has 8 oral tentacles with 14 transparent appendages that merge near the bases. It has medusa phase and polyp.
It feeds basically on zooplankton.
Sexual reproduction, when the male jellyfish releases sperm, and the female jellyfish picks them up to form zygotes (with their eggs). The larva that forms is deposited at the bottom of the sea and a polyp grows, from which small jellyfish will come out by asexual reproduction.
Habitat:
In the Mar Menor, a salty coastal lagoon in the province of Murcia (Spain). It is a region where temperatures reach 40º C in the summer and the water this summer has reached a temperature of 30º because it is a shallow lagoon. This lagoon has communication channels with the Mediterranean Sea through which certain invasive species enter. Two days ago we were able to see this explosion of species, but today there were only a few, surely the currents have carried them away.
Notes:
My video of Phyllorhiza punctata:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJoeZw3MZIM
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