isn't she absolutely TERRIFYING?? just imagine, for some reason you're swimming in the midnight zone of the Gulf of Mexico (and the water pressure hasn't crushed you), then you see this... don't worry tho, she doesn't sting.

this jelly is super rare, it's only been sighted 27 times in 27 years. it only has four arms, which can grow up to 10m.

she's a weirdo, but we love her for that.

omg the colors she has!! the prettiest fried egg (uovo all'occhio di bue) you'll ever see.

she's not even that dangerous. some sources say that these broccoli ahh looking tentacles don't sting, others that they do sting but only a little, in case you have sensitive skin.

these jellies can reach up to 40cm in diameter, but they're usually around 20cm.

they live in symbiosis with some algae (me and my house plants).

they're so cool that they're being studied in the treatment of breast cancer btw (doi:10.3390/md11051728).

this one is a stinger alright, probably the jellyfish that stings the most in the mediterranean sea. even its bell stings! however, it's not a dangerous sting, it's "only" quite painful.

not a fun fact but i have a short story: once when i was little and swimming with some of my brothers and cousins near the coast, i saw one. then another one. and another one. before i knew it, we were surrounded. i was little and my oldest brother was carrying me on his back, but he didn't have his glasses on so i managed to guide him and avoid the little demons. we got to a platform for plunges (our initial destination), got up, saw the water swarming with purple dots, reorganised in a formation so that the youngest (me and my cousin) were on the floaties and those who didn't need glasses were in the front, and managed to get back to shore unharmed!!

surprisingly, i might have been less scared if it had happened at night: they are bioluminescent! "noctiluca" comes from the latin combination of "nox" (night), and "lux" (light). that's why they're commonly known as luminous jellyfish (medusa luminosa) and night-light jellyfish.

they're quite small: the umbrella is around 10cm and the four oral arms (the thick ones) can reach 30cm of length. but! their eight tentacles (the thin ones) are retractile and can extend up to two meters!! they're not as visible as the oral arms, so if you ever see a mauve stinger, be sure to stay a good distance from it.

one last thing, wikipedia calls them "opportunistic". it made me giggle, so here you go.

uugghhhh she's so pretty it hurts. Marivagia comes from the Latin "mari" (sea) and "vagus" (wanderer), while "stellata" means starry, from the pattern on the umbrella. so poetic ♡

Marivagia stellata is the only species known to belong to the Marivagia genus (which makes it a monotypic genus). this is because she has a unique shape, which kind of resembles a star. she's pretty young, scientifically speaking: the first specimen to be described was found in 2010 near the mediterranean coast of Israel, by the researcher Bella Galil. most likely this kind of jellyfish has entered the Mediterranean sea through the Suez Canal.

this jelly is about 15cm in diameter. even though she reminds me a little bit of the Cassiopea mediterranea, the Marivagia stellata can sting.

despite her pretty looks, she represents a grave danger in the mediterranean: this jelly is super invasive and feeds on small fish and what fish usually feeds on. because she has been recently introduced, she doesn't have any predators, and this gives her no containment. so if you ever spot one, be sure to document and alert the competent authorities (jail).