Columbretes Islands, Mediterranean, Spain
A little piece of sunshine drifting beneath the surface.
It’s the season for the beautifully bizarre fried egg jellyfish, one of the Mediterranean’s most iconic jellies.
With its golden brown center and distinctive appearance, Cotylorhiza tuberculata almost looks like a fried egg floating through the blue.
There’s more to this jellyfish than meets the eye. Microscopic algae live inside its tissues, using sunlight to produce energy through photosynthesis and sharing some of it with their host. A jellyfish with its own little solar power system.
Look closely and you may also find tiny fish sheltering among its arms. For them, this drifting jellyfish can be a floating refuge in the open sea.
These beautiful jellies appear mainly during the warmer months, drifting slowly with the currents, seemingly going nowhere, yet carrying a whole little world with them.
There’s something captivating about watching them move through the water: strange, delicate and almost otherworldly.
A little piece of sunshine, quietly drifting by :-)
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