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A fish, living *inside* a jellyfish? Meet the medusafish!

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An adult medusafish Icichthys lockingtoni hiding out in the oral arms of a Pacific sea nettle Chrysaora fuscescens — Photo Thomas Anderson

Home sweet drifting home! Jelly blooms are full of sea-critts, including shy medusafish hiding out to escape preying eyes!

Some of you may be asking: “A fish, living INSIDE a jellyfish?!” Indeed! In the vast open ocean, jellies are far more than a tasty treat or a potential predator—they’re ocean-view rentals with excellent home security!

A slow mo medusafish swimming with a sea nettle

Medusafish often travel with Pacific sea nettles, but other jellies have different companions. In particular, egg-yolk jellies (Phacellophora camtschatica) often serve as a nasty nursery for tasty fare like butterfish and Cancer crabs, or as a permanent floating platform for jellyfish barnacles.

So in a flowing world with few places to settle, it turns out that jellies RV-ery swimportant!



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