June 25, 2024, by Mara Evans

The red-eye medusa, Polyorchis pencillatus, is a jellyfish species named for their reddish eyespots, which line the base of their bell. They’re not true jellies, because true jellies are in the group Scyphozoa, and these medusae belong to a different group called the Hydrozoa. Despite the resemblance, they’re about as distantly related to species like moon jellies as you are to an alligator! 

These creatures are newcomers to the aquarium, collected by our aquarist, Matt, in the beginning of June on a sunny day when the light attracted the medusae to the surface. The key word here is collected: unlike the moon jellies we had on display before, nobody’s quite managed to get this species to reproduce under human care. This, combined with their shorter lifespan (they’re estimated to usually live only a few months), means they’re quite rare to see on display in an aquarium. This makes SSSC one of the only facilities in the world where you can currently view them!