Purple-Striped Jellyfish:
A bloom of venomous mauve stinger or purple-striped jellyfish was reported by marine researchers across the Visakhapatnam coast.
- Purple-striped jellyfish usually appears a blue purple (mauve) colour with a globe shaped umbrella covered in orangey brown warts.
- It is primarily pelagic or in the open ocean.
- However, this species can survive in benthic and temperate coastal habitats.
- It is found worldwide in tropical and warm-temperature seas. It is mainly found in the Indo-Pacific, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
- Unlike other jellyfish species, it has stingers not just on the tentacles, but on the bell too. These are bioluminescent, having an ability to produce light in the dark.
- It is venomous and causes varying degrees of illness such as diarrhoea, extreme pain, vomiting and anaphylactic shock.
- A jellyfish bloom is when the population of the species increases dramatically within a short period of time, usually due to a higher reproduction rate.
- According to marine biologists, jellyfish blooms are reported frequently as a result of rising ocean temperatures, one of the main causes of substantial population growth.
