Spotted kaleidoscope jellyfish

Haliclystus octoradiatus · The spotted kaleidoscope jellyfish is a stalked jellyfish that is abundant in the waters off the coast of Cornwall.

Spotted kaleidoscope jellyfish
Photo: Genet (Diskussion), CC BY-SA 4.0
Spotted kaleidoscope jellyfish
Photo: Libby Keatley, CC BY 4.0
Spotted kaleidoscope jellyfish
Photo: John Hepburn, CC BY 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCnidaria
ClassStaurozoa
OrderStauromedusae
FamilyHaliclystidae
GenusHaliclystus
SpeciesHaliclystus octoradiatus

Where it lives

Shallow coastal waters; abundant off Cornwall, south-west England.

Fun facts

  • Its colour varies wildly, from orange-brown, olive-brown, red, orange or green to translucent brown-and-aqua or almost white forms.
  • It has 30 to 120 secondary tentacles bunched in clusters at the tip of each arm.
  • Each of its arm clusters, called a conad, packs in 10 to 70 gonadal sacs.
  • It hunts small invertebrates, amphipods, and sea spiders for food.

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