Biodiversity & Conservation

Compass jellyfish - Chrysaora hysoscella

Chrysaora hysoscella

Image Keith Hiscock - Chrysaora hysoscella. Image width ca 60 cm.
Image copyright information

  • #
  • #
  • #
  • #
  • #
  • #
  • #
  • #
Distribution map

Chrysaora hysoscella recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

Sightings Have you seen Chrysaora hysoscella?
If so please submit your record.

Chrysaora hysoscella is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Cnidaria Sea anemones, corals, sea firs & jellyfish
Authority Linnaeus, 1766
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Chrysaora hysoscella occurs in coastal waters all round the British Isles. It is prevalent off the south and west coasts of England and Wales. It has been recorded off the Cumbrian coast, the Isle of Man and off the north coast of Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Chrysaora hysoscella is a pelagic species. Young Chrysaora appear in British waters in May.
Text page icon Description Chrysaora hysoscella has a thickened bell (manubrium) that can grow up to 30 cm in diameter. The edges of the bell are developed into 32 lobes and bear 24 marginal tentacles. These are arranged in eight groups of three which alternate with eight sensory organs and are capable of great elongation. The marginal tentacles are conical in shape with a flattened thicker base giving the jellyfish a fluted appearance. They are also covered with clusters of stinging cells (nematocysts). It has a long and slender manubrium which leads onto 4 oral arms that are fused for a short distance at its base. Typically Chrysaora hysoscella is yellowish white in colour with a highly distinctive brown pattern like the radii of a compass.
Identifying features
  • Flattened umbrella or saucer shaped bell.
  • Four frilly oral arms that are longer than the bell tentacles, these may also coil up at their tips.
  • Upper surface of the bell has 16 v-shaped brown markings radiating from a dark apical circle or spot at the centre.
Additional information icon Additional information May be confused with the common jellyfish Aurelia aurita when stranded. Aurelia aurita however, has shorter tentacles with no brown v-shaped markings on the bell. Instead it has 4 purplish-blue horseshoe shaped gonads that are easily distinguished through the upper surface of the bell. The stinging cells and venom of Chrysaora hysoscella are strong and can produce painful, long lasting weals in humans.

This review can be cited as follows:

Marisa Sabatini 2008. Chrysaora hysoscella. Compass jellyfish. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 04/02/2012]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2977>