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Fried egg jellyfish with a yellow dome and purple tentacles in blue water

Fried Egg Jellyfish: Facts, Photos & Why It’s So Strange

Cotylorhiza tuberculata

Breakfast, but make it float

A flat white disc with a bright yellow dome in the middle. Yes, it looks exactly like a fried egg drifting through the sea. The fried egg jellyfish is one of the Mediterranean’s friendliest jellies – its sting is so weak that most swimmers don’t even feel it.

Fried Egg Jellyfish vs. you

Your height ft in5 ft 7 in

Quick facts

Size
7.9–9.8 in
Usually 7.9–9.8 in (20–25 cm) across; up to about 16 in (40 cm)
Lifespan
~6 months
About 6 months
Left in the wild
Unknown
Unknown – sometimes appears in huge swarms

Conservation status

Not evaluated

Superpowers

  • Venomous : Is it venomous? Barely – its sting is too weak to bother most people
  • Glows : Does it glow? No
  • Regenerates limbs : Can it regenerate limbs? No

Identity

Scientific name
Cotylorhiza tuberculata
Class
Cnidarian (jellyfish)
First described
1778, by Saverio Macri

Life & family

Diet
Plankton – plus sugar made by algae living in its body
Gestation
None – it starts life as a tiny polyp on the seabed
Predators
Sea turtles and some fish

Where to find it

Habitat
Warm, calm coastal waters near the surface
Lives in
The Mediterranean Sea
In the wild
Yes – easily, in the Mediterranean in late summer
In zoos
Yes – in some aquariums

Explore similar

Why is this animal unusual?

It’s part animal, part garden. Tiny algae live inside its tissues and make food from sunlight, which they share with the jellyfish.

Why does it look like that?

The “yolk” is the raised centre of its bell. Underneath hang short arms tipped with purple and blue buttons, like tiny beads.

Strangest biological feature

An engine. Most jellyfish just drift with the current, but this one can swim by itself, pulsing its bell to move wherever it likes.

Why is it strange?

It has no brain, no heart and no bones – and it’s about 95% water.

Interesting behavioral facts

Young fish often hide among its arms and ride along, using the jellyfish as a mobile shelter.

Records held

A different, bigger “fried egg jellyfish” lives in the Pacific, with tentacles several metres long.

Fried egg jellyfish with a yellow center and purple tentacles in clear water

Fried Egg Jellyfish: quick answers

Is the fried egg jellyfish dangerous?

No. Its sting is very weak and harmless to people. As with any jellyfish, it’s still best not to touch it.

When can you see fried egg jellyfish?

Mostly in late summer and autumn, when they appear in warm, calm Mediterranean bays – sometimes in large swarms.

How long does a fried egg jellyfish live?

The floating jellyfish lives about six months. It starts life as a tiny polyp on the seabed.

Is there more than one “fried egg jellyfish”?

Yes. The name is also used for a bigger species found in the Pacific and Atlantic, Phacellophora camtschatica, sometimes called the egg-yolk jellyfish. Its tentacles can be several metres long.

Know someone who needs to see this?

Send them the Fried Egg Jellyfish. They'll thank you. Probably.

Photos & videos