Lucernariopsis campanulata

George Brown Is this Lucernariopsis campanulata? West coast of Lismore, Loch Linnhe. 6m depth.

David Fenwick Snr Yes it certainly is Lucernariopsis campanulata, Haliclystus have primary tentacles between the arms which this one clearly does not. It can be told from L. cruxmelitensis in that the mouth in L. cruxmelitensis is more a yellowish colour and there is a greater concentration of spotting either side of the tentacle arms, forming clear lines. You can also see in the 2-3 o'clock position the double spotting between the arms. In red forms I've noticed this tends to be near white but in olive / brown specimens the spotting is usually turquoise as is usually described for the species.

David Fenwick Snr Nice pic !!!

George Brown Wow! Thank you David for the comprehensive ID information.

David Fenwick Snr No problem George; was a nice image to talk about.

George Brown Is this Lucernariopsis campanulata? West coast of Lismore, Loch Linnhe. 6m depth.

David Fenwick Snr Yes it certainly is Lucernariopsis campanulata, Haliclystus have primary tentacles between the arms which this one clearly does not. It can be told from L. cruxmelitensis in that the mouth in L. cruxmelitensis is more a yellowish colour and there is a greater concentration of spotting either side of the tentacle arms, forming clear lines. You can also see in the 2-3 o'clock position the double spotting between the arms. In red forms I've noticed this tends to be near white but in olive / brown specimens the spotting is usually turquoise as is usually described for the species.

David Fenwick Snr Nice pic !!!

George Brown Wow! Thank you David for the comprehensive ID information.

David Fenwick Snr No problem George; was a nice image to talk about.

David Fenwick Snr The stalked jellyfish Craterolophus convolvulus and Lucernariopsis campanulata are now turning up, in low numbers, at a number of sites around the Mounts Bay and Penwith region of Cornwall. Image below Craterlophus convolvulus. Most common host so far is Sargassum.

David Fenwick Snr I should have added, turning up intertidally, lowershore and middleshore rockpools.

Bernard Picton The Sargassum in Strangford Lough has some nice hydroids on it, perhaps these invasive aliens just increase the biodiversity by providing more niches....

David Fenwick Snr Sargassum is one of the main algae species I check for stalked jellyfish I've found 4 species on it now, although I've never found stalked jellyfish on it where it forms thick mats, but the peripheries are good places to search as are the old stumps left behind after the autumn gales. Intertidally, I seem to find most well away from larger algal species, especially those that occur around pool fringes. e.g. Fucus serratus; and many are found on algae where pools narrow and drain into one another. I find the same on the intertidal eelgrass bed I search, sparcer areas and areas where water drains, either salt or fresh are good to search. Of course stalked jellyfish are probably more easy to find in such sparce areas as well, but of course there's more water movement around such areas and thus they will be good areas to feed if you're a species 'relatively' fixed in one position. Local currents may of course be responsible for the distribution of early life stages. I can certainly see a pattern emerging round here with them.

Andy Horton I have received at least two (probably more) reports of people swimming through Sargassum and receiving a bright red scar (like jellyifsh weals) which could last for six months. Could he hydroids cause this? Or rather are their own experiences of this put down to this cause. The reported evidence of wounds like this have been caused by the Snakelocks Anemone, Anemonia viridis. There have been many attributed to the latter.

David Fenwick Snr I'm handling stalked all the time and it's not them. On looking through Sargassum I often find quite a number of juvenile snakelocks, especially near the base. Never seen much else on it on the shore but I guess jellyfish could become trapped amongst it during the summer when people are swimming. It's tending to die back down and sinking around here at the moment.

George Brown Lucernaria quadricornis, East Lunna Voe, Shetland. About 70mm diameter. Depth 10m. Seemed able to move about using its foot and tentacled arms.

Joanne Porter George Could you post this into the Orkney and Shetland Seasearch group too, I'm sure there are people in that group that would love to see this :)

Allen Collins Fantastic!

George Brown Hi Joanne, working on that right now. I tried a few days ago but failed due to poor reception. Home now! :o)

Penny Martin that is lovely, I really like stalked jellies ...... we have seen craterolophus convolvulus , lucernariopsis campanulata and Haliclystus auricula here in Orkney

Rebecca Helm Really, you saw it wiggle around, moving its foot? Did it adhere with its tentacles?

Rebecca Helm Lovely picture, btw.

George Brown Rebecca, it didn't wiggle but moved its foot. My other photos show its leg shrinking, becoming corrugated and reattaching itself to the kelp. I've also read it eats Lacuna vincta so it's got to be mobile.

Rebecca Helm WOW! So was it holding on with it's "arms" during this process? That is so cool!

George Brown Exactly! A case for video which I would have done if I wasn't frozen to the core. I tried to (very gently!) lift it towards a better camera position but couldn't prise the arm off the kelp. Too cold so gave up!

Allen Collins Yummm. Littorines for lunch.

George Brown Had to Google that Allen! Think I'll stick with a bacon roll.

Andy Horton http://www.seawater.no/fauna/cnidaria/quadricornis.html

Anne Bignall Can anyone help with a species id for this please?!

Darryl Mayer Stalked Jellyfish

Anne Bignall Which species though?

Penny Martin Anne and I have photos of haliclystus auricula and what we think is Craterolophus convolvulus but this is different from both. All seen today in Orkney........

Darryl Mayer We need more info to determine that. How big, what length differences between stalk and funnel, where they were seen... but have a looksee here http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3445

David Fenwick Snr Looks very much like Lucernariopsis campanulata.

David Fenwick Snr Darryl, I've just looked at the Haliclystus images here, both look like they may have white nematocysts which if they have would of course make them both Haliclystus octoradiatus. More detailed images are really needed though.

Anne Bignall Thanks all, I'll post more photos......

Marco Faasse It is indeed certainly a Lucernariopsis, though I'm not quite sure which one, L. campanulata or L. cruxmelitensis. Characters and drawings seem to be in the Hayward & Ryland book. The other two species you IDd perfectly youself!

Anne Bignall Thanks again - there seems to be a sudden influx of different stalked jellies here in Orkney - or perhaps we'd just not noticed before?

David Fenwick Snr That's very interesting as here in Penzance I start finding them in October and finish about May. Out of interest has the weather been cloudier than normal with you Anne, or has the water vis been poorer than normal through sediment or blooms ?

Anne Bignall It has been a pretty grey and cloudy summer - very changeable even for Orkney I'd say. Viz not bad though - although it was poorer than usual on the day I saw this.