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FACTS
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Little is known about the species, which belongs to
a family with the scientific name Olindias, but has
no specific scientific name of its own.
Jellyfish have no heart, no head, no bones, no cartilage
and do not even have eyes…and yet they rank amongst
the top predators in the oceans.
The Flowerhat jellyfish take their name from a round
beaded hat worn in victorian times.
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Scarborough Sea Life Centre and Marine Sanctuary
have a new addition in the form of the rare and exotic 'flowerhat'
jellyfish.
The first of their kind to appear at any European aquarium, they
have been flown to the UK from Japan.
The Flowerhat is one of very few species of jellyfish to feed on
live fish, paralysing and killing prey with its powerful sting.
Although the Flowerhat sting isn't fatal to humans they're certainly
to be avoided as curator, Paul Bullimore explains.
"It's one of the more painful stings of any jellyfish, and
definitely the most painful of any we have here. If you were stung
by one it would leave a sore rash and a burning sensation that's
very painful.
"In the wild the flowerhat is found off the coast of Japan,
Brazil and Argentina where occasional blooms of the population can
shut off whole stretches of beach.
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| Jellyfish
technician Emma Cartwright admires the new arrivals |
"It's quite difficult to get conditions right for them. You
have to have perfect water quality, the flow has to be just right,
the lighting has to be just right and obviously you have to get
the feeding right as well.
"In the wild they feed on live fish but ours have been weaned
onto dead fish before moving up here this week, but feeding it still
a time consuming job."
The jellyfish have proved very popular at the centre. Roughly tennis
ball sized they're easy to see and fluoresce in the low light with
striking colours.
It's expected the Flowerhat jellyfish will be on display in Scarborough
until the end of the year.
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