Atlantic Sea Nettle

At a glance

Atlantic Sea Nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha) is a cnidarian present across the CatchRules coverage area but without species-specific bag, size, or season rules tracked in our regulatory dataset.

Confirmed by 274 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with North Carolina, Texas, and Florida the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• Atlantic sea nettles prefer brackish estuaries like Chesapeake Bay, where they bloom each summer.
• Their bell typically grows to about 6–8 inches in diameter.
• They feed on comb jellies, zooplankton, and small fish.
• Polyps overwinter on the seafloor and bud off new medusae each spring.
• Their sting causes a mild but memorable burning rash.

Where Atlantic Sea Nettle are seen

• North Carolina124 iNat obs
• Texas47 iNat obs
• Florida31 iNat obs
• Massachusetts23 iNat obs
• New Jersey13 iNat obs
• Alabama12 iNat obs

Background

The Atlantic sea nettle, also called the East Coast sea nettle in the United States, is a species of jellyfish that inhabits the Atlantic coast of the United States. Historically it was confused with several Chrysaora species, resulting in incorrect reports of C. quinquecirrha from other parts of the Atlantic and other oceans. Most recently, C. chesapeakei of estuaries on the Atlantic coast of…

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Atlantic Sea Nettle article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.