1. Aurelia is a solitary marine and medusoid jelly-fish often living in brackish water. It inhabits coastal water of all zones and in abundant numbers, mostly living in warm and temperate latitudes.
2. Very common along the entire Atlantic coast and Pacific coast and only form reported in temperate regions.
3. Commonly called as Jelly-fish measuring approximately 30 cm in diameter.
4. Body is gelatinous, transparent, bluish, white, reddish, or pinkish.
5. Saucer-shaped body is distinguished into convex ex-umbrellar and concave sub-umbrellar surfaces.
6. Various other structures seen are gastric filaments, sub-genital pits and velarium.
7. Sub-umbrellar margin contains marginal tentacles having stinging cells and 8 marginal lappets having sense organs or tentaculocysts in 8 lobes.
8. Mouth 4-cornered. Each corner is drawn out into an oral arm along perradii.
9. Inter-radial, adradial and per-radial gastrovascular canals open in circular canal. Velarium present
10. Jelly fish feeds on molluscs, crustaceans, protozoans,nematodes, rotifers, diatoms, polychaetes and copepods.
11. It swims by rhythmic contractions of umbrellar surfaces.
12.Male and female separate individuals. Life-cycle shows alternation of generation.
13.It responds to mussel juice, proteins, peptones, amino acids but not to sugars, starches or glycogen.
Source:
1. Practical Zoology Invertebrates by S.S.Lal. 2. A Manual of Practical Zoology Chordates by Dr. P.S. Verma.
