Egg-yolk Jelly
Phacellophora camtschatica
Phacellophora, commonly known as the fried egg jellyfish or egg-yolk jellyfish, is a very large jellyfish in the monotypic family Phacellophoridae containing a single species Phacellophora camtschatica. This genus can be easily identified by the yellow coloration in the center of its body which closely resembles an egg yolk, hence its common name. Some individuals can have a bell close to 60 cm (2 ft) in diameter, and most individuals have 16 clusters of up to a few dozen tentacles, each up to 6 m (20 ft) long. A smaller jellyfish, Cotylorhiza tuberculata, typically found in warmer water, particularly in the Mediterranean Sea, is also popularly called a fried egg jellyfish. Also, P. camtschatica is sometimes confused with the lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata).
It feeds primarily by collecting medusae and plankton with its tentacles, and bringing them into its mouth for digestion. It is capable of only limited motion, and mostly drifts with the current, even when swimming. This species and most of its relatives in the Cnidaria phylum often use suspension feeding as their main food gathering strategy.
From the article Phacellophora on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
This cool-water genus are found in many parts of the world's oceans even though the abundance of the sole species in open marine waters is relatively low. Though, it can be rather abundant in some parts of the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, especially near the shore where it was found to dominate in the southern part of this area. However, most individuals are found in isolation. It was also found in the western and eastern Bering Sea. Additionally, it constituted a noticeable proportion of jellyfish biomass in waters of the northern California Current. In a study conducted in 2011, the egg-yolk jelly was found to aggregate mostly over deep basins, whereas in shallow areas a significant quantity of this species was found only off West Kamchatka, This is in stark contrast to the other members of the family Ulmaridae (since it is no longer a member) which prefer shallow water. This preference could be related to the bell size of the individual which ranges from 5–59 cm. This bell size likely allows the jellyfish to swim in deeper waters by resisting stronger water currents and pressure. Also, jellyfish populations (including the egg-yolk jelly) are on the rise in degraded areas as a result of increased tolerance to detrimental factors. …
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
What it does
Phacellophora mainly feeds on gelatinous zooplankton and smaller jellyfish, which become ensnared within the tentacles. Tentacles contain nematocysts, which help in prey capture. These structures also provide defense against predation. Food that is caught in the tentacles is then covered in mucous, then these tentacles are brought to the mouth by oral lobes. Food is then digested by digestive enzymes in the gastrovascular cavity. Broken-down food is then distributed throughout the jellyfish by ciliary action.
Phacellophora feeds on a great variety of taxa, including euphausiids, cladocerans, and decapod zoea, fish (including fish larvae), and especially other jellyfish such as Aurelia spp., ctenophores and Pelagia noctiluca. The fried egg jellyfish have been known to host symbionts that will transfer onto Phacellophora when the host is consumed. This is possible because the sting of this jellyfish is weak therefore allowing many symbionts/parasites including small crustaceans like larval crabs (Cancer gracilis) and some Amphipoda (Hyperia medusarum) to regularly ride on its bell and even steal food from its oral arms and tentacles.
Wikipedia: “Feeding”
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Phacellophora camtschatica in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 52966.