Crystal jelly

Aequorea victoria · The crystal jelly is a glowing, see-through jellyfish that lives off the west coast of North America.

Crystal jelly
Photo: incidencematrix, CC BY 2.0
Crystal jelly
Photo: Magic5227 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
Crystal jelly
Photo: Public domain, CC0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCnidaria
ClassHydrozoa
OrderLeptothecata
FamilyAequoreidae
GenusAequorea
SpeciesAequorea victoria

Where it lives

Coastal waters from British Columbia to central California.

Fun facts

  • Scientists who studied this jellyfish's glowing protein won the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
  • This jellyfish makes flashes of blue light, and a special protein turns that light green.
  • A fully grown crystal jelly can have up to 150 tentacles, yet they have no effect on humans.
  • Its stretchy mouth can expand to swallow prey half as big as the jellyfish itself.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).