PORT PHILLIP BAY


Blue Blubber 

Catostylus mosaicus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Rounded bell coarsely granulated on outside surface (resembling a mosaic). No clubs, filaments or appendages on oral disc. Eight three-winged, cauliflower textured oral arms. Gastrovascular cavity visible as a large cross through the surface of the bell. Jellyfish is fleshy, sturdy and reasonably opaque. May be brown, blue or white.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Cnidaria
Class:
Scyphozoa
Order:
Rhizostomeae
Family:
Catostylidae
Genus:
Catostylus
Species:
mosaicus

General Description

Body with rounded top (bell) and eight textured arms, each arm with three "wings". Colour brown, white or pale blue. White cross inside body, visible through the bell. Bell up to 35 cm across.

Biology

Blue Blubbers often aggregate in large numbers in Victorian waters. They have no tentacles, but they do have stinging cells along the arms which help catch prey. In Port Phillip Bay, they may have isopods, amphipods and/or parasitic anemones living upon them. The have been trialed for aquculture and may one day be farmed for human food.

Habitat

Estuaries and open water, may drift near shore due to tide and winds.

Open water

Distribution guide

Torres Strait and eastern Australia.

Species Group

Jellyfishes and allies Jellyfishes

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)

Water Column

Surface Midwater

Max Size

35 cm

Diet

Carnivore

Harmful

Mild sting possible.

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Recorded in Australia

Identify

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author Browne, J.

Jo Browne is a consultant with expertise in ctenophore and cnidarian taxonomy.

citation

Cite this page as:
Browne, J., 2011, Blue Blubber, Catostylus mosaicus, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 28 Mar 2024, http://136.154.202.208:8098/Species/_Species/7757

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