Aurelia aurita

'Aurelia aurita or the Moon Jellyfish are the most common species in class Scyphozoa. They are a marine animal and can be found in coastal areas around the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and in enclosed seas in the Mediterranean Sea and Baltic Sea. They have a dome-shaped body, sort of like a flying saucer, and is about 20-40 centimeters in diameter as a mature medusae. They exist in the polyp form as an immature scyphistoma or strobilae, but from the strobila are the eyphras that grows into the adult medudsae form. They have a mouth that is the only opening and it leads to the gastrovascular cavity, and any wastes and water are expelled throught the mouth. Their skin is usually a clear pink or blue, composed of two cell layers called epidermis and gastrodermis with a jelly-like mesoglea that seperates the epidermis and the gastrodermis. They also contain stinging cells called cnidocytes that will shoot out stinging structures called nematocysts. These are all typical characteristics of Cnidarians. The only difference is that these Moon Jellies do not have strong nematocyst that can ward off predators or paralize their preys. Their stings are very mild, but they usually cannot pierce throught a human skin. Most of the time they are harmless. And unlike other Cnidarians, they have short tentacles and cannot catch food without the long extensions so they have to capture food by trapping it with the mucous layer of their epidermis. With cillias around their body, they are able to move food into the mouth.But like other cnidarians, they Moon Jelly are carnivorous and can feed on zooplanktons, protozoa, tiny crustaceans, and the larval stages of many animals. Their reproduction cycle begins in early summer and produce mature Moon Jellyfish by mid-spring. Their life span is a little more than a year, they die after reproducing in the summer. They could also get killed from washing up into shores, or eaten by sea turtles and some fishes.