They have a lot more to teach us.
We've learned a lot with your help. But there's still so much we need to know to protect our wild dolphin neighbors.
Give to dolphin research at the Cape Lookout Studies Program.
JELLYFISH.
All photos by Keith Rittmaster
We saw the jelly fish above today at the dock. It is Chrysaora quinquecirrha or “stinging nettle”. It has a semi-transparent bell typically with small white dots and reddish-brown stripes radiating out from the center. Long tentacles extend below the bell. The bell is 1 to 12 inches in diameter. Its sting can be painful.
Thetwo jelly fish below we often see in summer. They are the Stomolophus meleagris or “cannonball jelly”.They are round, milky in color and somewhat rigid with a reddish-brown pattern becoming darker towards bell margin. Its tentacles are short and dense under the bell. Their sting is very mild, if felt at all. They often have small crabs and fish living all the way inside under the bell. Their round bell presents a ball-like appearance, from tennis ball size to soccer ball. The dolphin below seemed to have noticed its ball potential.
Trackback from your site.
Tursiops
Tursiops truncatus is the scientific name for the common bottlenose dolphin. Tursiops is also the user name shared by volunteers who contribute to this blog. If you have an idea for a blog post, or think we should comment on an article you've found, click the contact button above and drop us a line!