Apolemia uvaria
species of cnidarian
Apolemia uvaria, commonly known as string jellyfish, or barbed wire jellyfish, is a colonial siphonophore. As with all siphonophores, string jellyfish look and function much like a single organism, but each "individual" Apolemia uvaria is in fact a colony of specialised minute organisms (zooids), permanently attached to each other and physiologically connected to the extent that they cannot survive alone.
String jellyfish colonies may reach 3 m (9.8 ft) in total length and have a diameter of 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in). The colony is formed of a central string, bearing groups of pink and white tentacles, which clump together or extend. The whole colony has a nectosome or pneumatophore which is a gas float at the front followed by a set of swimming bells (nectophores) for moving forward. This colonial animal is pelagic and is found in oceans worldwide in the midwater. They are often found at surface level but can also be found at depths of around 1,000 m (3,300 ft). These ocean predators act like drift nets, spreading their tentacles widely to catch plankton. Their tentacles can sting humans painfully.
As of 2025, string jellyfish have been proliferating in seas around Norway and Scotland.
The public source identifies “Apolemia uvaria” as species of cnidarian. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Apolemia, uvaria and species.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2555908. The first chronological checks are 2025.
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This entry incorporates text from “Apolemia uvaria” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.