Phase Contrast and DIC Comparison Image Gallery
Aurelia Ephyra-Stage Jellyfish - DIC
In less than a year, the ephyrae mature sexually into medusas. Although not mature, most of the adult characteristics (except gonads) are present in this larval stage, but in different proportions. Most notably, the eight pairs of lappets are disproportionately large in comparison with adult jellyfish of the same species. While lappets are inconspicuous on adult Aurelia members, they dominate the ephyrae. Other body parts, such as the manubrium and the arms, are common to both larval ephyrae and mature medusas in most Scyphozoa species. The rhopalia are eight sensory organs that are evenly spaced around the fringe of the bell of both stages. Each rhopalium contains a statocyst for balance and sensing gravity and an ocellus for photoreception. In the adult stage, the large lappets of the ephyra are reduced to small, triangular sense organs located adjacent to the rhopalia.
