Atlantic Sea Nettle

The Atlantic Sea Nettle is a large jellyfish with a distinctive reddish or golden bell, often marked with radial stripes, and long trailing tentacles that can reach 4.5 metres. Found in coastal waters of the western Atlantic, from New England to the Gulf of Mexico, it appears seasonally in estuaries and bays during warmer months. The tentacles deliver a mild sting—painful to bare skin but rarely dangerous to divers in wetsuits. Sea nettles often aggregate in large numbers and are important prey for leatherback sea turtles and ocean sunfish.