Family Aequoreidae
Introduction to Aequorea Victoria
The Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish is also referred to as the Crystal Jelly. While there are several subspecies they are extremely hard to tell apart. To identify them researches take size and the number of tentacles into consideration. They often have to conduce DNA samples though in order for them to be able to really identify them successfully.
Aequorea Victoria Description
The Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish is colorless and virtually transparent. It has a very large and contractile mouth and strong tentacles. The bell offers more than 150 tentacles of varying sizes. This is where the toxin is located that they use to immobilize their prey. The tentacles are sticky so that they can capture the prey with ease.
| Class | Hydrozoa |
| Subclass | Leptolinae |
| Order | Leptomedusae |
| Suborder | Conica |
| Family | Aequoreidae |
| Genus | Aequorea |
| Conservation status | Not evaluated |
They can vary in size depending on the location where they are found. They typically are larger than 3 centimeters wide. They have a bell design that allows them to move around easier in the ocean waters than other species of Jellyfish.
Aequorea Victoria Distribution
The Western coast of North America is where you will find the Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish. They are found from the Bearing Sea all the way to Southern California. They are frequently found swimming around the shoreline. However, they can also be further out due to the wind and the water current.
Aequorea Victoria Behavior
The Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish has more control over its movements in the water than many other species. However, it often found allowing the wind and the water currents to move it along in the habitat. It will only exert energy to control its movements if there is a risk of a predator or if there is a lack of food that they are getting.
The Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish does sting humans but they don’t cause any real pain. In fact, many individuals don’t even realize that they have been stung by one when they are in the water. It isn’t until they get to shore and see the redness on their body or have an itchiness that they realize anything has occurred. Benedryl or any other Antihistamines can usually take care of swelling and itching.
Aequorea Victoria Feeding
Soft bodied organisms are the most common types of food for the Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish. However, they also consume larvaes, plankton, and a variety of crustaceans. They are able to use their sticky tentacles to inject venom into the body of the prey. They can take on prey about half of their size.
They have to swallow the prey whole because they don’t have any teeth or any ability to chew. In the stomach lining there is a special type of enzyme that allows them to break down the food into resources they at they cause for nutrition. There are also documented cases of cannibalism among the Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish when food resources are hard to find.
Aequorea Victoria Reproduction
Mating can take place any time of the year for the Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish. However, the water temperatures are when it is usually going to take place. This is also when food is the most likely to be plentiful. Both sexual and asexual reproduction can occur for the Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish. This means that they can both create eggs and sperm. There isn’t a requirement for one to come from two different Jellyfish.
Aequorea Victoria Conservation
At this time there aren’t any conservation efforts in place for the Aequorea Victoria Jellyfish. While it is extremely difficult to get an exact count about how many of them are in the wild it is believed more than enough for their survival. In fact, it is believed that their numbers have increased due to the decrease of predators including large fish in the oceans where they reside.
