Mauve stinger - Pelagia noctiluca

As it does every summer, this year too, Pelagia noctiluca, Mauve stinger, the glowing jellyfish or purple jellyfish, has arrived. We encountered it in the video after a strong storm, and it was swimming alone near the coast in the turquoise sea typical of post-storm conditions, where the water is still murky and visibility is therefore very limited. In these cases, it’s therefore best to equip yourself with a mask to avoid unpleasant encounters with these highly stinging jellyfish.

Purple jellyfish of this species typically live in schools of many individuals, all at the same stage of their life cycle. When pushed by currents toward the coast, they can pose a problem for swimmers and people. Pelagia noctiluca is one of the few jellyfish with stinging cells covering its entire surface, unlike other species that typically only have stinging tentacles.

Pelagia noctiluca is also almost transparent, making it extremely difficult to see in the water without a mask or goggles. Finally, in addition to the classic five main tentacles, it has small, very long and thin secondary tentacles that the jellyfish extends for several tens of centimeters to capture food.

Pelagia noctiluca is a jellyfish of the Pelagiidae family and the only currently recognized species in its genus. It is typically known in English as the Mauve stinger. In Greek, pelagia means “she of the sea,” from pelagos “sea, open sea”; in Latin, nocti is the combined form of nox “night” and lux meaning light; therefore, Pelagia noctiluca can be described as a marine organism with the ability to glow in the dark (bioluminescence).

It is found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate seas, although records outside the North Atlantic region, which includes the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico, are suspected to represent closely related but currently unrecognized species.

A fairly small and variable-colored species, both its tentacles and (unusual among jellyfish) its bell are covered with stinging cells. Stings are common, painful, and symptoms can persist for a considerable time after the encounter, but they are generally not dangerous.

When large numbers of this oceanic species wash ashore, the local economy can be compromised because tourists avoid the beaches and fishermen are stung while trying to retrieve their nets, which can become jammed by the jellyfish. Furthermore, swarms of Pelagia noctiluca have been recorded wiping out entire fish farms. For this reason, it has become one of the most studied jellyfish species.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelagia_noctiluca

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