Flower hat jelly
| Flower hat jelly | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Hydrozoa |
| Order: | Limnomedusae |
| Family: | Olindiidae |
| Genus: | Olindias |
| Species: | O. formosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Olindias formosus (Goto, 1903) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The flower hat jelly (Olindias formosus) is a species of hydromedusa in the hydrozoan family Olindiidae. Although they look like a jellyfish, they actually belong in the class Hydrozoa, while true jellyfish belong in class Scyphozoa. Flower hat jellies occur in the northwestern Pacific off central and southern Japan, and South Korea's Jeju Island. (close relatives live elsewhere, like O. sambaquiensis found off Argentina and Brazil). The adult form of the flower hat jelly only lives a few months and is typically seen from December to July, with peaks in April and May. During the day they rest on the bottom, often among rocks or algae, but at night they float up to hunt for their prey, typically small fish.
The sting of the flower hat jelly is generally mildly painful and leaves a rash. There is a single known human fatality from Japan.