There were ripping currents on the deep wrecks this past weekend, and with the currents came a whole slew of jellyfish and tunicates. I’m mildly obsessive about the Black Sea Nettle bloom we sometimes get in San Diego in the summers, and I’m well-known as a nudibranch zealot, so it should come as no surprise that I get pretty excited about other squishy invertebrates as well.
This is why, when I actually happened to look up for once and spotted a big Purple-Striped Jellyfish (Chrysaora colorata) crossing the anchor line about 20 feet over the USS Hogan wreck, I took a quick mental note of where my teammates were, and went up for a closer look.
The Purple-Striped Jellyfish (or Sea Nettle) looks a lot like the Black Sea Nettle, only it’s white (with purple stripes–duh). In other words, it’s absolutely amazing.
I hope this bodes well for a jellyfish bloom this summer. I can’t wait to find out!