''Chrysaora chesapeakei'' is a

sea nettle ''Chrysaora'' () is a genus of jellyfish, commonly called the sea nettles, in the Family (biology), family Pelagiidae. The origin of the genus name ''Chrysaora'' lies in Greek mythology with Chrysaor, brother of Pegasus and son of Poseidon and M ...

from the family

Pelagiidae The Pelagiidae are a family of jellyfish. Members of the family ''Pelagiidae'' have no ring canal, and the marginal tentacles arise from umbrella margin. Genera There are four genera currently recognized: *Genus '' Chrysaora'' – (14 species) ...

. It was shown to be a distinct species from ''

Chrysaora quinquecirrha The Atlantic sea nettle (''Chrysaora quinquecirrha''), also called the East Coast sea nettle in the United States, is a species of jellyfish that inhabits the Atlantic coast of the United States. Historically it was confused with several '' C ...

'' in 2017. Since then, it is also commonly known as the bay nettle. It is found mainly in estuaries of the eastern coast of the U.S.A and is especially known from the Chesapeake Bay, but can also be found in the open Gulf of Mexico.

Description

Similar to other species of

, ''C. chesapeakei'' has a centrally located mouth surrounded by oral arms. It has a vaguely saucer-like shaped bell and typically has four long, lacy

oral arm An oral arm is an anatomical structure of "true" sea jellies (or Scyphozoans), which belong to the class Scyphozoa. Oral arms characterize Semaeostomeae, an order of large jellyfish. The oral arms (of which there are usually four) are located ...

s hanging from the bell. They usually have around twenty-four tentacles. The tentacles do contain a toxin that is capable of stinging and causing pain to humans. However, the toxin is not strong enough to prove fatal to a human, unless the toxin were to cause an allergic reaction. In 2017, ''C. chesapeakei'' was differentiated as a separate species from '' C. quinquecirrha'' based on genetic and morphological differences. Compared to '' C. quinquecirrha'', ''C. chesapeakei'' has a bell size that is on average half as small, usually around . It also has fewer tentacles and longer oral arms.

Lifecycle

When the eggs of ''C. chesapeakei'' are developed, the mother jellyfish will carry them on her oral arms until the ciliated planulae develop. They will then swim until they find some sort of

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

on which to attach themselves. Typically, that substrate would be something hard and rough with plenty of shade, but mostly they will attach to the shells of

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

s. In either case, they begin to develop into

polyps A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase-shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral (opposite to oral) en ...

. From this point, if conditions are favorable, they will undergo a process known as

strobilation Strobilation or transverse fission is a form of asexual reproduction consisting of the spontaneous transverse segmentation of the body. It is observed in certain cnidarians and helminths. This mode of reproduction is characterized by high offspri ...

. This is when the polyp asexually produces the ephyrae into the water, which then develop into the medusae. If conditions are not favorable, the polyps will continue in their benthic stage where they will wait for the return of favorable conditions.

Feeding

Individuals of the ''C. chesapeakei'' species are carnivorous. They generally feed on

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

and small

marine invertebrates Marine invertebrates are invertebrate animals that live in marine habitats, and make up most of the macroscopic life in the oceans. It is a polyphyletic blanket term that contains all marine animals except the marine vertebrates, including the ...

such as

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s and

ctenophores Ctenophora (; : ctenophore ) is a phylum of marine invertebrates, commonly known as comb jellies, that marine habitats, inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming (commonly referred to as "combs ...

. They can also act as a food source for several types of

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

. Due to their feeding habits, ''C. chesapeakei'' have become an important species in the Chesapeake Bay. A species of ctenophore, ''Mnemiopsis leidei'', has had a negative impact on many of the economically important fishing industries in the Chesapeake Bay. However, due to the fact that ''C. chesapeakei'' regularly feeds on the ctenophores, this species has been kept in check and the predatory impact of ctenophores subsides once bay nettles reach high numbers in the summertime. It is possible that as climate change becomes a greater issue, there may be fluctuations in the availability of the populations of both species.

Distribution

''C. chesapeakei'' can be found in several different types of water, including the

open ocean The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the surfa ...

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuary ...

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

s, and

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

. It is most commonly found in the Chesapeake Bay, which is how it got its name, but it can also be found in many bays and estuaries along the U.S. east coast and even in the Gulf of Mexico.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q48972832 chesapeakei Animals described in 1936