Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi)

Sea Walnut (Mnemiopsis leidyi)_18

Jellyfish are, to put it simply, bastards. They know when you’re trying to take their picture and they will jet away just as you push the button, or another one will photobomb in front, or they’ll schedule their feeding with the aquarium staff so the water gets all cloudy just at the time when you’re ready to set up.

So it’s always a shock when I get a usable shot that shows the structure of the jelly, much less one that shows the individual glints of light that pop up when a sea walnut moves its cilia around.