Cassiopea
Encyclopedia
- You may be looking for CassiopeiaCassiopeia-Mythology:* Cassiopeia , a queen of Ethiopia and mother of Andromeda in Greek mythology.-Science:* Cassiopeia , a northern constellation representing the queen* Cassiopeia A, a supernova remnant in that constellation....
- For the constellation with a similar name, see Cassiopeia (constellation)Cassiopeia (constellation)Cassiopeia is a constellation in the northern sky, named after the vain queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty. Cassiopea was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century Greek astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today...
. For the fictional character in Encantadia, see Cassiopea.
Cassiopea is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of scyphozoan jellyfish
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
very commonly found in shallow mangrove swamps, mudflats, and turtle grass flats in Florida and various other similar environments around the world, where it lives usually upside-down on the bottom. Where found, there may be numerous individuals with varying shades of white, blue, green and brown. They have a mild sting since they are primarily photosynthetic, but sensitive individuals may have a stronger reaction. The stinging cells are excreted in a mucus; swimming over these jellies (especially using swim fins) may cause transparent, essentially invisible, sheets of this mucus to be lifted up into the water column, where they are then encountered by unsuspecting swimmers. The stings, appearing in the form of a red rash-like skin irritation, are notorious for being extraordinarily itchy.
The Cassiopea jellyfish (one common species is Cassiopea andromeda
Cassiopea andromeda
Cassiopea andromeda is a type of jellyfish that usually lives in intertidal sand or mud flats, shallow lagoons, and around mangroves. This jellyfish, many times mistaken for a sea anemone, usually has its mouth upward on the bottom...
) belongs to the Order Rhizostomeae and mostly lives in sandy areas and seagrass beds. The Cassiopea jellyfish is also called "Upside Down Jellyfish", because it lies on its back, so that the bell touches the ground. In this position it resembles a sea anemone. Sometimes this jellyfish is picked up by a crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
(Dorippe frascone) and carried on its back. The crab uses the jellyfish to defend itself against possible predators.