AURELIA

genus of marine jellyfish of the order Semaeostomeae (class Scyphozoa, phylum Cnidaria) found in coastal waters, particularly of North America and Europe. The adult may grow as large as 40 cm (16 inches) in diameter. Its medusoid body is bell-shaped, and from the dishlike underside hangs a short tube at the tip of which is the mouth. The edges of the tube form four frilly projections called mouth, or oral, arms. Four crescent- to circular-shaped gonads are visible near the centre of the gelatinous dish and are coloured pink through magenta to blue. The rim of the undersurface bears numerous short tentacles. Like other scyphozoan jellyfishes, the Aurelia goes through a sessile (attached) stage before taking on its adult free-swimming form.