About Staurostoma mertensii (Brandt, 1834)
Staurostoma mertensii, commonly called the white cross jellyfish, has a clear medusa that is 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2.0 in) thick and 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) wide. It looks very similar to Mitrocoma cellularia, though Mitrocoma cellularia typically only grows up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in diameter. This jellyfish lives in cold water neritic zones. Its distribution includes the North Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the Barents Sea, the White Sea, and the Sea of Okhotsk, where it can be found from May to early September. It also occupies an ecological niche in the southern hemisphere around Antarctica, spreading to southern South America, and has been sighted in the Falklands and Chile.
