Dead jellyfish invasion in Hyères

Thousands of “moon jellies” - aka Aurelia aurita to marine biologists - covered the Almanarre beach like a sea of rotting stinking jelly, no doubt carried there by the westerly wind.

Aurelia auritas are translucent and easily recognized by the four horseshoe-shaped gonads seen clearly through the top of the bell which can measure up to 40 cm. They feed by collecting plankton and small mollusks, bringing the prey into their bodies with nematocyst-laden tentacles. They swim by pulsing the bell although they are capable of only limited motion and mainly drift with the currents.

Unlike their cousins the Pelagia noctiluca – aka “mauve stinger” to unwary swimmers who get in their way – the sting of the Aurelia, like minute harpoons fired by springs, is quite mild for humans as it is not powerful enough to pierce the skin. CL