Black jellyfish

This is a photo of a black jellyfish that appeared close to shore near the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, California. Excited staff members trapped it in the hopes of better understanding this mysterious creature. Apparently, little is know about the black jellyfish and they are rarely seen by humans. According to Programs Director Larry Fukuhara, in 2005 tons of black jellyfish appeared close to shore and then suddenly disappeared and haven’t been seen much since.

No one really knows why 2005 was such a banner year for seeing black jellyfish or why black jellyfish are rarely seen off the coast of Southern California most of the time. And no one really knows where they hang out or how they spend their time…everything about the black jellyfish is very mysterious.

In person or in jellyfish I should say, the black jellyfish is beautiful, with deep purple-black on top and vivid maroon and purple tentacles flowing beneath its umbrella shaped dome. I took several photos and the flash went off accidentally and I felt terrible. But the marine biologist on staff assured me the flash doesn’t hurt jellyfish since they don’t have eyes. Well there’s one good thing about adapting to ocean living by relying on other senses…no red eye.