The Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish Of Maiori, Italy (Rhizostoma Pulmo)
This month’s article series will discuss the quaint town along the Amalfi coast known as Maiori. Maiori is a small town along the Amalfi coastline, in the province of Salerno. It is famous for its large lemon production, as well as its incredibly old chapels. It is an inexpensive resort town & has been since the roman times. 2 anonymous sponsors decided to graciously donate us money in order to go to Maiori & conduct various experiments. During the 5th of September, we will publish an article on the various experiments we conducted & research data we collected. These articles will be published under our newest newsletter, which is named “The Persaud Catalogue: Scientific Journal of Marine Biology”. This will be the first publication under that newsletter. Maiori is also wonderfully inexpensive so this makes it a day trip destination. It is also possible one of the best places to go marine-creature watching in the province of Salerno. It has a rich history that ties in to a twin town that is nearby, known as Minori. Maiori has the longest stretch of unbroken coastline along the entire Amalfi coast, which makes it a prime location for both coastal & marine life. Maiori is also famous for their delightful various scuba diving tours. The town currently has a bustling coastline in that many marine creatures will choose to live along it. One of the main creatures found along the coast, is the Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish. The Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish is a 59 inch long jellyfish species that lives along the Amalfi coast. If is most often seen in colours of blue, pink, & violet. It is extremely large & is one of the largest jellyfish to live in the northern Sea. They are not extremely aggressive & their sting is not very painful, however it is best to avoid contact with them if possible. They are unfortunately, invading Italian waters. There are very many of them in Italian waters, & there are not exactly supposed to be that many. They are reproducing very quickly, & also enjoy coastal habitats over open oceanic habitats. This makes it so that they crowd the beaches during the summer months, which are prime tourist months. This is why, whenever visiting Maiori or villages close by, you should always beware of jellyfish. In this article we will discuss the life of the Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish, The Mating Tactics, Strategies, Habits, Cycles, & Procedures of the Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish, The Distribution of the Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish, The Scientific Detailings of the Frilly-Mouted Jellyfish, & finally what to do in the event that you are stung by the Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish. With that being said, let us delve into this strange cnidarian.
The Life Of The Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish
The Frilly-Mouthed jellyfish was first described in the year 1778. It was described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin. It is unknown how he found the first specimen he came across or which journey he first encountered it on. They will live for 12 months to 20 years before dying. As said in the introductory section of this article, they are usually 16 inches (0.4064 meters or 1.33333 feet) in diameter, & 59 inches (1.4986 meters or 4.91667 feet) long. As a frame of reference, the average Italian lady is 5 feet & 4 inches tall, a mere 5 inches taller then this jellyfish. The approximate average weight of the jellyfish is 25 kilograms (55.1156 pounds), however they can be up to 35 kilograms. This species, is not very intelligent as far as oceanic creatures are concerned. Since Jellyfish are classified under the phylum known as “Cnidaria”, they have do not have a circulatory system, any brain tissue, or a heart. They do have a nervous system though, which is the primary function of theres. This will be further discussed in the section titled: The Scientific Detailings Of The Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish. Jellyfish have existed for at minimum 500 million years as we know them. However it is currently unknown how old jellyfish or even this species of jellyfish is. There are very few fossil records of jellyfish or this species in particular. They do not show affection or appear to have any sense of memory. They cannot hold any resentment against another past creature that has wronged them. It does not seem to be very territorial or migratory. There is unfortunately very little documentation on their migratory patterns. They are social creatures &, they will hunt & live in groups of various sizes. They often will have colonies with each other, & it is uncommon to find a singular Frilly-Mouthed jellyfish. They tend to not interact with humans & to stay in their colonies. They have been captured by humans before both alive & dead. They do sleep in a way, in that they will stop pulsing as frequently & will not move for a while. It is unknown how fast they can swim however it is below 2 centimeters per second. They will catch plankton & immobilize them with their tentacles, then they will put them in their bell shaped mouths & digest them. They are not cannibalistic & only feed on plankton. They metabolism seems to be somewhat slow & they do not seem to hunt very often. They are 30% less active at night so they will usually hunt in the daytime. Unfortunately it is unknown how much they consume per day & how often they will consume food. The main natural predator for this creature is the Leatherback Turtle. So much so, that this species has made the leatherback turtle become endangered. The Jellyfish did this by causing the turtles to believe that plastic waste are jellyfish & then consuming plastic waste. The frilly-mouthed jellyfish is strange in design. The Frilly-Mouthed jellyfish has a long circular bell about 16 inches in diameter. Below them, they have 8 main tentacles & small clusters of thin tentacles around the main 8. Their main body is usually white or ivory in colour, & their tentacles are usually pink & purple. Oftentimes the embellishments are purple on these creatures. The Frilly-Mouthed jellyfish does not have a listing on the IUCN list. This means that it is classified data-deficient.
The Mating Tactics, Strategies, Habits, Cycles, & Procedures Of The Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish
Frilly-mouthed Jellyfish do breed via sexual reproduction & asexual reproduction. They are not hermaphroditic & cannot change sexes. They are not monogamous creatures. The females & males both sexually mature at approximately 60 centimeters long. Little is known about the actual mating ritual. After the eggs are fully fertilized & laid, the female & male will abandon their eggs & go off to mate once more. Once the eggs are made the parents will cease to have any involvement with the children. 2 days after being laid & fertilized the eggs will hatch & become free-swimming larvae. There are usually 100 of them laid at once. After the larvae becomes free-swimming, it will become a polyp. These polyps can produce baby jellyfish before they become a full grown jellyfish. A polyp is able to asexually make juvenile jellyfish, & full grown jellyfish are able to sexually make a juvenile jellyfish. They do not have a specific age in which they are the most fertile.
The Distribution Of The Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish
The frilly-mouthed jellyfish is found in the Atlantic Ocean. It is most commonly found off the coast of Great Britain & in the North Sea. It is found throughout the Mediterranean, the Sea of Azov, & the Black Sea. They are coastal creatures & for a specific reason. Plankton often washes up along the shoreline of beaches, so these jellyfish will flock there in order to catch & eat the plankton. This is why jellyfish blooms are becoming such a large issue along Italian Coastlines. This Jellyfish is found in somewhat equal population density across everywhere besides the coastal areas of Great Britain. They are found extremely commonly off the coast of Great Britain & in the Irish sea.
The Scientific Detailings Of The Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish
The most unique feature of the Frilly-mouthed jellyfish, is there strange assortment of tentacles. Usually, Jellyfish will have many long thick tentacles & then a few smaller tendrils. However, in the case of the frilly-mouthed jellyfish, they have 8 main tentacles & then numerous fine tentacle clumps surrounding their main tentacles. They usually have between 16 & 32 stubby tentacles. Their tentacles longer tentacles also have softer areas on the end, which extend outwards in a bell shape. The tentacles hang just below the mouth, so this gives off the appearance that they are frilly-mouthed. This is most likely where the name “Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish” originated. This species does sting but their sting is not lethal. Unfortunately, this species of jellyfish’s venom is un-researched. It is unknown exactly what is in their venom. Their phylum is Cnidaria. Cnidaria is phylum that contains approximately 11,000 species, all of which are aquatic. Cnidarians have 2 main bodily forms, these forms are swimming medusae & sessile polyps. These bodily forms are both surrounded by tentacles which are used to carry food towards their mouth. Creatures under the phylum of Cnidaria all have only 1 bodily orifice that is used for respiration, excretion, & digestion. Cnidarians lack brains, hearts, or a circulatory system. They have a decentralized nerve net & function based off of how their nerves perceive things. The majority of cnidarians do not have eyes however some have very simple eyes that detect light. They have very few sensory organs & their most distinguishing feature by far is having the presence of cnidoctyes (nematocysts) which are a specialized type of cell that is used to capture prey & defend against predatory beings. This type of cell holds toxin & is the cell responsible for delivering a sting. Their class is Scyphozoa, or true jellyfish. A defining quality of species categorized under this class is that they are not filter feeders, they instead strain the plankton from the water using their tentacles. Their order is Rhizostomeae. Fauna categorized under this category do not have tentacles as we view them or other structures at the bottom edge of of their bell, they have 8 branched oral arms. Their family is Rhizostomatidae. This is a family of true jellyfish. Their genus is Rhizostoma. Rhizostoma is a genus of semi-large rhizostomatid jellyfish which are found in the Atlantic. Their binomial name is Rhizostoma Pulmo.
What To Do In The Event That You Are Stung By A Frilly-Mouthed Jellyfish
As a disclaimer, we are not health professionals. These treatments may not work for all sting sites.
Step No. 1: Immediately Exit The Water
Once you have found out that you have been stung, immediately exit the water.
Step No. 2: Get The Remaining Tentacles Off You Immediately
Using tweezers & gloves or a cloth covering, carefully remove the tentacles. Do not attempt to scrape them out with your bare hand.
Step No. 3 Apply Hot Water On The Sting Site
Apply hot water on the stung site. The water should be between 110° to 113° Fahrenheit. If the water feels scalding, do not apply it on the stung site as it will worsen the pain. Make sure the water is not boiling before you apply it. Also, avoid application of cold water to the stung site.
Step No. 4 Apply Lidocaine Cream
Lidocaine cream is a numbing cream found in a variety of pharmaceutical stores. It is a numbing cream that will help with both the pain & inflammation. It is very useful to have on-hand when going into an area where jellyfish are common. Apply at the sting site sparingly.
Step No. 5 Go To A Doctor If Possible
Once all these steps are completed, you most likely will not have to visit a doctor. The sting of a Frilly-Mouthed jellyfish is relatively mild & is not lethal. However, you should still see your doctor if you are stung. This step is not necessary but it is advised. Going to a hospital or emergency clinic is not necessary for this kind of sting.
Directories / Credits
Strategic Partnerships
Reel Guppy Outdoors
Our Loyal Patrons
Ms. Ochoa
Comments