Mauve stinger

Pelagia noctiluca · The mauve stinger (Pelagia noctiluca) is a small jellyfish found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate seas.

Also called Purple stinger, Luminous jellyfish, Night-light jellyfish, Purple jellyfish, Purple people eater.

Mauve stinger
Photo: © Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0
Mauve stinger
Photo: West Brom 4ever, Public domain
Mauve stinger
Photo: Sofig, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCnidaria
ClassScyphozoa
OrderSemaeostomeae
FamilyPelagiidae
GenusPelagia
SpeciesPelagia noctiluca

Where it lives

Warm open seas worldwide; best known from the North Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Fun facts

  • It can glow with soft flashes of light when jostled by waves or a passing ship's motion.
  • Unlike most jellyfish, its bell as well as its tentacles are covered in stinging cells, and even dead, stranded ones can still sting.
  • A seven-arm octopus has been recorded grabbing one of these jellyfish and using its sting as a borrowed defensive weapon.
  • A single swarm can stretch across tens of square kilometres, contain millions of jellyfish, and pack in over 500 individuals per cubic metre.

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