Phacellophoridae Family of Jellyfish
One Jellyfish from the Phacellophoridae Family can be found in this website:
Fried Egg Jellyfish, Phacellophora camtschatica. A reprentative of the Phacellophoridae Family of Jellyfish.
Phylogeny: Jellyfish of the Phacellophoridae Family, like coral polyps and sea anemones are in the phylum Cnidaria. This phylum is generally characterized by animals having radial symmetry. Their bodies consist of an inner layer (endoderm) and an outer layer (ectoderm) with the layers separated by a jelly-like mesoglea. All Cnidarians have nematocysts (stinging cells) that they use to capture food. Phacellophoridae Jellyfish are in the subphylum Medusazoa and the class Scyphozoa. Scyphozoans spend most of their life cycle in the medusa (bell or umbrella shaped) form. These bells can be fairly large and are often colorful. As Scyphozoans, these jellyfish lack a vellum, a shelf-like structure around the inside margin of the bell, and, usually, lack a ring canal, a canal lined with gastrodermis that runs around margin of bell. Phacellophorid Jellyfish are in the subclass Discomedusae and the order Semaeostomeae. The Phacellophoridae Family is one of five families in this order. The Phacellophoridae Family is very small, with only one genus and one currently accepted species. Both the family name and the genus name Phacellophora come from the Greek words meaning “bundle-bearing” and refers to the bundle of tentacles carried by this jellyfish. Species within this family are also commonly called Fried Egg Jellies or Phacellophorids.
Morphology: Phacellophorid Jellyfish have the classic jellyfish appearance, with long frilly oral arms extending below the center of the bell. The margins of the bell are scalloped with 16 larger lobes (lappets), alternating with smaller lobes. Each lobe has a cluster of up to twenty-five tentacles. The bell of the Fried Egg Jelly is clear to milky white in color. The bell surrounds a yellowish gonad, which is visible through the bell. The oral arms are frilled and short. Fried Egg Jellyfish are relatively large, with the bell diameter being between 30 cm (12 inches) and 60 cm (2 feet 0 inches). The tentacles can extend as far as 5.0 m (19.7 feet).
Habitat and Distribution: In their polyp stage Phacellophorid Jellyfish are benthic, but in their medusae stage they are generally pelagic, occasionally drifting into near shore waters or bays. In this stage they occupy the top 20 m (66 feet) of the water column. These jellyfish are found worldwide in polar to tropical seas. This species is found in Mexican waters, along the Pacific coast.
Reproduction: In the medusa stage, Phacellophorid Jellyfish are gonochoric (either male or female) and reproduce sexually. The male releases sperm into the water. The female uses her oral arms and tentacles to gather the sperm to fertilize her eggs. The female carries the fertilized eggs on her oral arms. The eggs develop in to planula larvae. The larvae are free swimming until they find suitable habitat and settle to the bottom. At this stage they undergo asexual reproduction. They either produce clones of themselves through budding, or undergo strobillation. Strobillation is a process whereby miniature medusae (strobilla) are formed into a pancake-like stack on a stalk. The most mature strobilla are at the top of the stack. The strobilia then bud off as individual baby jellyfish (eyphyra).
Ecosystem Roles: Phacellophorid Jellyfish feed by trailing their tentacles and oral arms through the water and paralyze their prey with their nematocysts. They feed primarily on other medusae jellyfish species, such as Ulmaridae Family of Moon Jellyfish. In turn Phacellophorid Jellyfish are preyed upon by sea birds, sea turtles, and over fifty species of fish. Fried egg Jellyfish often play host to commensal and parasitic hitchhikers including amphipods, crabs and fish. Sometimes several hundred amphipods and crabs can be found on a single individual.