APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

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Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded / lateral view 1

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded / lateral view 2

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded / lateral view 3

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded / dorsal view 1

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded / ventral view 1

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded 1

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded 2

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded 3

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded 4

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded 5

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded / lateral view 4

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- stranded / underside 1

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- lateral view 1

Barrel, Rootmouth or
Dustbin-lid Jellyfish
Rhizostoma aggregata
- lateral view 2

The specimens above were not determined as Rhizostoma octopus or Rhizostoma pulmo when found, hence Rhizostoma aggregata. The following is a simple guide to Rhizostoma identication.

"Rhizostoma octopus (Linnaeus) and R. pulmo (Macri) (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae) are closely related and frequently misidentified, with the sole difference being the number of marginal lappets around the bell, generally 8 per octant in R. pulmo and 10 in R. octopus, but up to 16 have been recorded.

Ref: Distribution, extent of inter-annual variability and diet of the bloom-forming jellyfish Rhizostoma in European Waters. M.K.S. Lilley, J.D.R. Houghton and G.C. Hays. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK · February 2009.

The followin image is a guide to the counting of marginal lappets within octants, note there is 10 marginal lappets in the octant at the one o'clock position, making this Rhizostoma octopus.

Rootmouth, Dustbin Lid
or Barrel Jellyfish
Rhizostoma octopus
- marginal lappets per octant

Scientific and European Names:
Rhizostoma agg., Barrel Jellyfish, Rhizostome, Rhizostome Jellyfish, Zeepaddestoel, Poumons de Mer, Rhizostome, Rhizostome de Mer, Blaue Lungenqualle, Blumenkohlqualle and Lungmanet.

The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help

people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.