Crimson Jelly

The entire Turritopsis genus is a very small group of Hydrozoa creatures with the crimson jellyfish being on the slightly larger side of the genus. The crimson jellyfish ranges in size from just 3 to 7 mm depending on what stage of its life cycle the creature is currently in. Being roughly the size of a pinky nail, the creature is like many other jellyfish being very simple with few organs. Underneath its transparent umbrella, the jellyfish has just a stomach, gonads, and a mouth. The bell margin then rounds out the umbrella and is the attachment point for the tentacles. These tentacles serve the purpose of hunting and gathering food, because — unlike many other species of jellyfish — the crimson jellyfish does not have any arms. The crimson jelly has approximately 120 tentacles which is significantly more than other members of the Turritopsis genus which range from 80 to 100 tentacles.

The crimson jellyfish is mainly distributed in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean. This includes Southeastern Australia, Tasmania, and Northern New Zealand. The species is typically visible in shallow coastal water during the summer months between December and March. While the Turritopsis rubra is limited to the Southeastern pacific, the Turritopsis genus has been distributed all over the world. This distribution is credited towards the polyps ability to latch on to a surface which can include vessels such as large international ships. Because of this global distribution and the prehistoric phylogeny of the Hydrozoa family, researchers are still unsure where the exact origins of the genus may be. It is also extremely rare for jellyfish to fossilize which makes it that much more difficult to track the biogeography of a species.

The crimson jellyfish's diet is unique, like many of the Hydrozoa class, because they are omnivores, which is very rare in the animal kingdom. Only about 3% of the animal kingdom are omnivores, including humans. The creature consumes both animals and other plants alike as long as the target is small enough to be eaten. Their diet consists of animals such as cretaceous zooplankton, copepods, fish eggs, mollusks, and larvae. The larvae preyed on can include larvae of other jellyfish species as jellyfish are often both prey and predator across species. The crimson jelly also consumes small phytoplankton such as diatoms and algae. The size of the jellyfish is its limiting factor when searching for food because the creature is so small. Jellyfish are also extremely simple creatures with very few organs, this leads to efficiency in their daily routines.

The life cycle for members of the hydrozoa family is extraordinarily unique because it occurs over two different phases. Depending on the current phase of an individual, that individual may be able to reproduce sexually or asexually. The first phase is known as the polyp stage. During this phase, larvae produced by mature jellyfish grow into small stalk-like figures that attach themselves to some kind of surface. These polyps form into an extended branch-like form which is uncommon amongst jellyfish species. The crimson jellyfish typically prefers to attach to docks, marinas, vessels, or the ocean floor. Once the polyps find a suitable surface, they will continue to grow until they can asexually reproduce medusae buds. These medusae buds are the beginning of the second phase in the jellyfish's life cycle.