Upsidedown jelly
Cassiopea frondosa
(Pallas, 1774)
Description:
This jellyfish has a flattened dome, and a widespread array of finely branched mouth tentacles. The arms cover about three quarters of the dome. In between, leaf-like appendages can extend from the tentacles. Color is greenish brown. No tentacles around the edge of the dome.
Size: dome diameter up to 20 cm.
Habitat:
Lives in the sheltered bays and seagrass fields, where it rests upside down on the bottom, exposing the symbiotic algae living in the arm to the sunlight. Part of its nourishment come from these algae.
Depth: ranges from 1 m down to 10 m.
Distribution:
Common all over the Caribbean, but restricted to mangrove bays and seagrass lagoons.
Remarks:
Touching this jellyfish can produce a sting on bare skin that may cause a redness or even a welt.