Crown Jellyfish

The Crown Jellyfish, scientifically known as Nausithoe punctata, is a fascinating marine creature found in tropical waters around the world, living in the open ocean at depths ranging from 1 to 1000 meters. Despite its small size, with a maximum diameter of just 1.5 centimeters (about 0.6 inches), the jellyfish has a notable presence. Its body, shaped like a disc, appears finely punctured without any radiating lines. The central disk of this jellyfish is thick, and unlike other jellyfish, its stinging tentacles are not grouped in clusters; its large gonads can be prominently observed.

The Crown Jellyfish belongs to the class Scyphozoa and is known for its distinctive life cycle, being gonochoric, meaning individuals are of separate sexes. The intricate development begins when an adult jellyfish lays an egg. This egg then develops into a free-swimming larvae called a planula, which subsequently transforms into a scyphistoma, a strobila, and finally, a young medusa, which is a free-swimming jellyfish again.

During its medusa stage, this jellyfish can grow a bell up to 2 centimeters wide (approximately 0.8 inches) and has eight tentacles. At another phase in its life, it resides in tubes up to 1.5 centimeters long, inhabited by polyps within protective chitinous structures. Each polyp can have as many as 70 tentacles. These polyps are usually found within various sponge species, such as Desmocella, Mycale, Myxilla, and Suberites, in sheltered environments. Despite its diminutive size, the Crown Jellyfish is equipped with a powerful sting.