| | Aurelia aurita (the jelly, moon jelly fish,crystal jellyfish moon jellyfish, common jellyfish, saucer jelly or swimming jellyfish) is the most common jellyfish species found in the genus Aurelia. Other species found in the genus Aurelia besides A. aurita include A. labiata and A. limbata. There are at least 13 species in the genus Aurelia including those that are still not described (Dawson, 2003). They can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, and are common to the waters off California, Japan, the East Coast of the United States as well as Europe. The animal is translucent, can be 25-40 cm across, and has characteristic patterns of color within its body. It feeds by stinging small medusans, plankton and mollusks with its tentacles and bringing them into its body for digestion, but is capable of only limited motion; like other jellies it drifts with the current. | |
