Jellyfish of the world: One man’s struggle

Paul Cornelius, Ph.D.
The Natural History Museum
London, England

Wednesday, March 18, 1998
3:30 p.m.—Pacific Forum

I am preparing an account of the larger jellyfish, or scyphomedusae and cubomedusae, of the world. Because specimens preserve rather badly, I have traveled widely to see live ones and have already been to southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Trinidad, and South America. I’m now visiting the west coast of the United States, which has a distinctive jellyfish fauna of its own; and later in the year I will visit the Indian Ocean and northern Brazil.

This talk will cover a variety of aspects of jellyfish and how they interact with mankind— both for and against us—and some taxonomic research findings. The oceans of the world are a big place, and we are still learning about some of their larger life forms. For instance, around Monterey, some quite large jellyfish, the size of dinner plates, have still been seen by just a handful of scientists. I will also talk about some rare specimens that I have seen.

Next: 3-D view of a ridge-transform intersection along the East Pacific Rise