Common jellyfish is actually two species, scientists find

Researchers determine that US Atlantic sea nettle and the Atlantic bay nettle are individual species

Date:  November 22, 2017

Source:  University of Delaware

University of Delaware professor Patrick Gaffney and alumnus Keith Bayha, a research associate with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, have determined that a common sea nettle jellyfish is actually two distinct species.

The Atlantic sea nettle is one of the most common and well known jellyfish along the U.S. East Coast, especially in the Chesapeake Bay and Rehoboth Bay where they commonly sting swimmers in large numbers. Since it was described nearly 175 years ago, the jellyfish has been assumed to be a single species.

The discovery that is was actually two distinct species, Gaffney said, was made possible by DNA sequencing techniques

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