The Compass Jellyfish: Cornwall's Most Impressive Jellyfish?

As the Cornish waters slowly warm up for summer, we're greeted with a wonderful and beautiful arrival. With markings that look like a ship's compass, this is the compass jellyfish, with its impressive markings and tentacles that trail long behind it. Compass jellyfish are a true sign of summer off the Cornish coast. They're one of the most impressive species of jellyfish that we get anywhere in the UK. They can give a little bit of a sting, but generally speaking it's not too bad. They are of course though powerful predators, not just for plankton, but sometimes for slightly larger animals that live off the southwest coast, including other jellyfish. That said, there are some daredevil animals that will actually use the compass jellyfish as a home and as a place of safety. Sometimes small fish can be seen sheltering in amongst the tentacles, darting back and forth to avoid being eaten by larger predators, and amphipods can also be seen taking shelter in amongst the jellyfish's tentacles too, and even stealing food from the jellyfish itself. In the summer it's normally the smaller, much more delicate compass jellyfish that tend to arrive first, and then the much bigger, more imposing adults start to come inshore as the summer moves on. Occasionally, in spite of their name, it's possible to find compass jellyfish that lack the prominent markings on their bell. They can come across as a ghostly white, almost lacking any markings on the surface and the top of their bell at all. The compass jellyfish is a reminder of just how wild and beautiful the marine wildlife around Cornwall can get in the summer, so be sure to join me for another video when I'll tell you more about our other wildlife.