Stripes, polka dots, rainbow rows, jewel-like hues—jellies come in a spectacular array of colors and patterns.
Exhibit visitors will see spotted jellies, bell jellies, cross jellies and—for the first time in North America—the stunning flower hat jelly.
|
|
 |
 |
Distinctive patterns mark some jellies bells
Flower hat jellies announce their presence with flamboyant green, pink, purple and yellow embellishments. It's a good thing you can see them coming, for their sting is nasty and leaves a painful rash. Small and round with short tentacles, they resemble embroidered and beaded Victorian hats.
|
Mediterranean jellies are also called fried egg jellies, for obvious reasons—namely, their smooth golden globes on top of their brown bells. But despite their good-enough-to-eat appearance, these jellies are no treat in Mar Menor, a coastal lagoon in Spain. Fertilizer runoff there led to an oversupply of the plankton that’s a staple of the jellies’ diet. Now there’s an oversupply of jellies, too, threatening fisheries and tourism.
|
|
 |
|
|
