Category: Jellies, Anemones and kin view all from this category

Description 3" (76 mm) high, 16" (41 cm) wide. Saucer-shaped. Whitish, translucent, 8 shallow marginal lobes, sense organs in 8 clefts between lobes. Numerous short, fringelike tentacles. Feeding tube short, stout, expanding as 4 long oral arms with frilly margins. Numerous branching radial canals. Reproductive organs horseshoe-shaped or round. Ripe female organs: yellowish, pink, or violet; males’: yellow, yellow-brown, or rose; immatures’: whitish.

Warning Mildly toxic. Its sting causes a slight rash that may itch for several hours.

Habitat Floats near surface; just offshore.

Range Arctic to Florida and Mexico; Alaska to s. California.

Discussion This is the jellyfish most commonly washed up on beaches during high tide or after a storm.