Chrysaora fuscescens is a common free-floating scyphozoa that lives in the Pacific Ocean, and is commonly known as the Pacific Sea Nettle or West Coast Sea Nettle.

Sea nettles have a distinctive golden-brown bell with a reddish tint. The bell can grow to be larger than one meter (three feet) in diameter in the wild, though most are less than 50 cm across. The long, spiraling, white oral arms and the 24 undulating maroon tentacles may trail behind as far as 3.6 to 4.6m (12 to 15 feet). For humans, its sting is often irritating, but rarely dangerous.

Chrysaora fuscescens has proven to be very popular for display at public aquariums due to their bright colors and relatively easy maintenance. It is possible to establish polyps and culture Chrysaora in captivity. When provided appropriate aquarium conditions, the medusae do well under captive conditions.^[1]

Chrysaora fuscescens is commonly found along the coasts of California and Oregon, though some reside in the waters north to the Gulf of Alaska, west to the seas around Japan and south to the Baja Peninsula. The populations reach their peak during the late summer. In recent years, C. fuscescens has become overly abundant off the coast of Oregon, which is thought to be an indicator of climate change. However, others suspect that the population is increasing because of human influences to coastal regions, but little to no historical population data from which to compare current abundances exist.^[1][2]

(From Wikipedia.org, September 21 2010)

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The Pacific Sea Nettle (C. fuscescens) is a large jellyfish with a bell of up to about 30 cm. in diameter. It has four long, spiraling tentacles surrounding its mouth that are known as “oral arms”. Around the perimeter of the bell are 24 marginal tentacles, organized in eight groups of three, which may trail several meters behind the bell. The exumbrella (upper, convex surface of the bell) is amber-colored and darkest near the margin (Carlton 2007).

(From The EOL Rapid Response Team, September 21 2010)

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