Chrysaora colorata
species of cnidarian
Chrysaora colorata (Russell), commonly known as the purple-striped jelly or purple-striped sea nettle, is a species of jellyfish that exists primarily off the coast of California from Bodega Bay to San Diego. The bell (body) of the jellyfish is up to 70 cm (2.3 ft) in diameter, typically with a radial pattern of stripes. The tentacles vary with the age of the individual, consisting typically of eight marginal long dark arms, and four central frilly oral arms. It is closely studied by scientists due to not much being known about their eating habits. A 15-foot-long specimen has been seen.
Often young Cancer crabs make home in the jellyfish and eat the parasitic amphipods that feed on and damage the jellyfish. C. colorata are more active in a lively current, which makes it easier for them to move and capture their prey.
Description
The jellyfish gets its name from the purple stripes on its bell. Juveniles are a pinkish color and its tentacles are long and dark maroon. As they age, the dark maroon color of the tentacles starts to fade, the purple appears as stripes on the bell and the four frilly oral arms will also become longer.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Chrysaora colorata” is species of cnidarian. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Chrysaora, colorata and species, not as a finished interpretation.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q589540. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chrysaora colorata” 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.