Mushroom cap jellyfish

Description:

This specimen was about 18 in. (45.72 cm) in dia. and distinguished by a mushroom shaped medusae. The species does not have any tentacles; however, they still have stinging cells, called nematocysts, within their bells, which can produce mild stings to humans.

Habitat:

Spotted washed up on the Perdido Beach. Rhopilema verrilli are distributed throughout the Western Atlantic of the U.S. and Canada, but they reside mostly along the coast in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and between North Carolina and New England. They sometimes occur inshore in mouths of estuaries.

Notes:

It survives off of tiny plankton parts, which are pushed out of their umbrella by the water and are caught with their finger-like appendages. Jellyfish are crucial to ocean health. They keep prey like zooplankton and small fish populations in check by paralyzing them with their tentacles and eating them up. Jellyfish also transport carbon to greater ocean depths, enhancing biodiversity and contributing to medical advances. Jellyfish in general (especially when there are several together) can also create a sort of safe haven habitat for some fish species and other sea creatures that simply need to hide or just be protected by the jellyfish from their predators.