Rare freshwater jellyfish caught on camera at Lake Erie
Ray Walter recorded this rare freshwater jellyfish in Lake Erie while working as an intern at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
A rare freshwater jellyfish was caught on camera at Presque Isle Bay in Lake Erie, thanks to a sharp-eyed intern with Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The tiny jellyfish — Craspedacusta sowerbii, also known as the peach blossom jellyfish — is incredibly difficult to spot in the wild.
“Most of the time, it's stuck to the bottom as a little polyp,” the DEP explained in a Facebook post. “But once in a while, it grows into the jellyfish shape we all recognize and Ray was in the right place at the right time to see it.”
Craspedacusta sowerbii, more commonly known as freshwater jellyfish. (Photo credit: Dave Head/USGS)
Craspedacusta sowerbii, more commonly known as freshwater jellyfish. (Photo credit: Dave Head/USGS)
Native to China’s Yangtze River, freshwater jellyfish are considered non-native in North America and have been observed here since the early 1900s. According to the National Park Service, they likely arrived alongside imported aquatic plants and have since spread through slow-moving streams, rivers, lakes and ponds.
The jellyfish is only about the size of a penny and is harmless to humans. While it uses stinging tentacles to hunt small prey like zooplankton, it poses no danger to people.
Craspedacusta sowerbii, more commonly known as freshwater jellyfish. (Photo credit: Myriah Richerson/USGS)
Seeing one in its jellyfish form is rare, and catching it on video? Even rarer. “You never know what you might find,” the DEP wrote. “Especially when you’re out exploring Pennsylvania’s natural spaces.”
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