Species Fact Profile: Upside-Down Jellyish (Cassiopea xamachana)

                                                           Upside-Down Jellyfish

Cassiopea xamachana (Bigelow, 1892)

Range: Western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico

Habitat: Muddy Seabeds, Shallow Lagoons and Bays

Diet: Zooplankton, Phytoplankton, Algae.  Supplemented by photosynthesis of symbiotic organisms.

Social Grouping: Large Aggregations

Reproduction:  Reproduction is asexual and sexual.  Female's eggs are fertilized by sperm released into the water by males, brooded internally.  Larva are free-swimming until they anchor at a permanent spot, become medusas.  Reproduction driven in part by water temperature

Lifespan: Unknown

      Conservation Status: Not Evaluated

• Diameter of 25 centimeters.  As the name suggests, it is "upside down" compared to other jellyfish, with the saucer-shaped bell at the bottom, anchoring the jelly to the seabed, with the tentacles drifting upwards
• Symbiotic single-celled organisms in the tissues are photosynthetic, give the jellyfish a variable blue-gray-green color
• If disturbed, the jellyfish may rouse itself from the seabed and drift for a while, re-anchoring itself in a different location
• Surrounded by a layer of mucous that contains stinging cells, which not only stun or kill their prey, but also provide a deterrent to predators
• Sometimes uprooted by crabs, which will place the jellyfish on their shell as a form of protection from predators
• Have been introduced outside of their range into the Pacific Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
• Primary predators are sea turtles.