Flower Hat Jelly

ocean · jellyfish look-alike · night hunter · Japan

Dressed for the ball. The flower hat jelly gets its name from its colorful, ruffled crown that looks like a fancy hat sitting on top of its body. Those frilly edges and bright colors make it one of the ocean's most beautiful creatures.

Night shift hunter. During the day, flower hat jellies rest quietly on the ocean floor hiding among rocks and algae. But when night falls, they float up into the water to hunt for small fish and other tasty snacks.

Brief beautiful life. An adult flower hat jelly only lives for a few months, with the best time to spot them being April and May off the coast of Japan and South Korea. They're like the ocean's fireworks, here for a short but spectacular time.

Not a true jelly. Even though flower hat jellies look exactly like jellyfish, they're actually hydromedusas, which is a completely different class of sea creatures. It's like how dolphins look like fish but are actually mammals.