A Southern Moon Jellyfish in a coastal habitat at Sand Key Beach in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Aurelia marginalis is approximately 30 cm in diameter and 9 cm in height. The top of the moon jellyfish is translucent, with four pink rings distinctly visible inside the jellyfish. The tentacles and underside of the jellyfish are not visible as the organism was laying on the sand along the beach shore. The four pink rings are gonads that produce gametes, which were used to identify the organism as the moon jellyfish by the World Register of Marine Species1. Aurelia marginalis are invertebrate protostomes that reside in the Atlantic Ocean near the equator. This organism belongs to Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Cnidaria and Class Scyphozoa.
References:
- WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Aurelia marginalis Agassiz, 1862. (2020). Marinespecies.Org. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1393176
