Category: Jellies, Anemones and kin view all from this category
Description 5" (127 mm) high, 10" (25 cm) wide. Pink with radiating red stripes. 40 tentacles. Bay form 2" (51 mm) high, 4" (102 mm) wide. White. 24 tentacles. Bell covered with fine warts. Margin divided into scalloped, shallow lobes. Long yellow tentacles alternate with marginal sense organs between lobes. Feeding tube extends well below bell margin as 4 long, ruffled, lacy lips. 4 gonads, each a convoluted loop.
Warning Mildly toxic. Contact with a Sea Nettle usually results in a mild itchy irritation, but a person stung severely may require hospitalization.
Habitat Floats near surface.
Range Cape Cod to Florida and Texas. Abundant in Chesapeake Bay.
Discussion A related species, the Lined Sea Nettle (C. melanaster), is often washed ashore from Alaska to southern California. It is larger, 12" (30 cm) wide and 8" (20 cm) high, with yellow to brown radial lines on the bell. It may also sting severely.
