Pacific Sea Nettle

The Shanghai Aquarium is not to be missed. There were a lot of kids and families today, but the amazing variety of fish, sharks, alligators, penguins, giant turtles, and seals were worth it.

As you can probably guess, I had a hard time choosing a photo to share. The jellyfish display was great, and they were wonderfully lit up. This sea nettle won the competition.

Here's what the information said next to the sea nettle display:

"The Pacific Sea Nettle is also called the West Coast Sea Nettle. The diameter of its umbrella mass could be greater than 1 meter, although most are less than 50 cm across. Its long, complicated, spiraling arms and the 24 tentacles may trail as far as 3.6 to 4.6 meters behind the "umbrella." Pacific Sea Nettles are carnivorous animals. They catch their prey with the nematocyst - laden tentacles that hang down in the water. The toxins in their nematocysts are effective against both their prey and humans, though it is typically nonlethal to the latter. Because Pacific Sea Nettles cannot chase after their prey, they must eat it as they drift. By spreading out their tentacles like a large net, the sea nettle is able to catch food as it passes by."