Atolla jellyfish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Atolla jellyfish lives – recorded in 6 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Atolla wyvillei
Group	Jellyfish, corals & anemones
Found in	6 countries
Continents	Africa, Antarctica, Europe, North America
Class	Cnidarian
Order	Coronatae
Family	Atollidae

Where does the Atolla jellyfish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Atolla jellyfish in 6 countries and territories across Africa, Antarctica, Europe and North America.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the Atolla jellyfish?

The Atolla jellyfish (Atolla wyvillei) is a cnidarian in the order Coronatae and the family Atollidae, genus Atolla. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Atolla jellyfish

Atolla wyvillei, also known as the Atolla jellyfish, Coronate medusa, and deep-sea jellyfish, is a species of deep-sea crown jellyfish (Scyphozoa: Coronatae). It lives in oceans around the world. Like many species of mid-water animals, it is deep red in color. This species was named in honor of Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, chief scientist on the Challenger expedition.

It typically has 20 marginal tentacles and one hypertrophied tentacle which is larger than the rest. This long trailing tentacle is thought to facilitate prey capture.

This species is bioluminescent. When attacked, it will launch a series of flashes, whose function is to draw predators who will be more interested in the attacker than itself. This has earned the animal the nickname "alarm jellyfish".

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Atolla jellyfish (revision 1368822148), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q3387426 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).