Cannonball jellyfish are a staple for many nearshore and inshore fish.
These “jelly balls” are also known by some as “cabbage-head jellyfish,” are found in abundance along the coast from April through October. As the water temperature cools, they migrate offshore to more temperate water conditions.
While immature jellyfish will stay in backwater creeks where the salinity is more conducive to their development, more mature specimens migrate offshore during the winter.
Cannonball jellyfish have been documented from Massachusetts to Brazil, but their main area of concentration is along the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia.
The bell of the jellyfish reaches eight to 10 inches in diameter and is bordered with brown pigment. It has short, protruding oral arms with secondary mouth folds (scapulets) at the base of the bell, covered with mucus for trapping small prey.
Be the first to comment