Range: Temperate waters worldwide Habitat: Open ocean and coastal waters Size: Up to 1 foot (30.48cm) in diameter; Up to 20 feet (6m) long tentacles Diet: Plankton and jellyfish Threats: Sea turtles, fish, and marine birds Life span: About one year as medusae

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about egg jellyfish. Believe it or not, there are actually two species of jellyfish commonly called egg jellyfish, or egg yolk jellyfish, or fried egg jellyfish - they have a couple different common names relating to the kind of eggs many humans prepare for breakfast - or whichever meal seems most appropriate. So as not to leave either one out, today we’ll discuss both. To make it a little less confusing, we’ll be referring to this species as the egg yolk jellyfish and this species as the fried egg jellyfish. At the end of the day, though, they both totally look like they’d fit right on top of a piece of toast, though, you probably wouldn’t want to eat these eggs…

Fried egg jellyfish are also known as Mediterranean jellyfish. This makes sense because they’re most abundantly found coastal lagoons of the Mediterranean Sea! Fried egg jellyfish can be more than a foot in diameter, though often they’re smaller than this. During the summer months, huge congregations of fried egg jellyfish, called swarms or blooms, can appear in Mediterranean waters. Fortunately for swimmers, fried egg jellyfish stings are generally considered harmless to humans.

Their sting must also be relatively harmless to some species of fish, as well, because these jellyfish often live in close association with fish species. For example, juvenile mackerel may live in the tentacles of fried egg jellyfish as protection. Fried egg jellyfish also live in an obligatory relationship with zooxanthellae. These are a type of algae and may provide fried egg jellyfish nutrients and protection from the sun. They also give the fried egg jellyfish their fancy colors! Fried egg jellyfish eat floating planktonic species that are caught in the jellyfishs’ tentacles, and they themselves are taken by sea turtles and likely other predators such as seafaring birds. Like most jellyfish species, fried egg jellyfish adults don’t live long, and all the adults of a season will perish by winter.

Egg yolk jellyfish are even larger jellyfish and can be confused with lion’s mane jellyfish due to their similar appearance; however, lion’s mane jellyfish don’t come with the iconic yellow center than gives the egg yolk jellyfish its namesake. Egg yolk jellyfish have a bell, which is the domed shaped part of the jellyfish, that reaches two feet (61 centimeters) in diameter. Their tentacles, which are the stinging parts that hang below the bell, may reach up to twenty feet (6 meters) in length. To be clear, the tentacles are the long stringy looking parts of the egg yolk jellyfish. The bunched up arms closer to the bell are the egg yolk jellyfish’s oral arms. These are generally much shorter than the tentacles in this species. The egg yolk jellyfish’s oral arms are used to transport food to mouth.

Egg yolk jellyfish mostly eat other jellyfish medusae. The medusa phase is the most well known phase of the jellyfish’s life cycle. When in this phase, jellyfish have the iconic dome, tentacles, and oral arms. However, in other phases they can appear quite different, with some actually sticking to the floor of the ocean. We discuss the jellyfish’s life cycle in more detail in our spotted jellyfish episode, if that’s something you want to check out! For egg yolk jellyfish specifically, they likely live about a year as medusae. In this form, they may be eaten by sea turtles, fish like ocean sunfish, and marine birds. Egg yolk jellyfish are found in temperate waters worldwide. They are pelagic meaning they live in the open ocean, though they can occur in coastal areas, as well.

For more facts on egg jellyfish, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.