Sunday, October 2, 2022

Mauve Stingers

  

Last week we observed many of these colorful jellyfish washed up on beaches in Truro and Provincetown, MA.  It looks like this is Pelagia noctiluca, sometimes known as the Mauve Stinger.

The pink/purple coloration was noticeable:

  

As was the dark spotting pattern (at least on some individuals).  A warning: This species is known to have a severe sting.  The dark spots might be clusters of stinging cells, so be careful if you encounter this jellyfish.

 
I'm not sure how common this species is on the Outer Cape, so am posting photos for the record.  (There were also thousands of salps, Thalia democratica, washed ashore on 28 September 2022.)

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