Stay Eat Events Weather Beaches

Tiny Alien Creature Lands on Oregon Coast

Published 03/09/2013

(Seaside, Oregon) – To the untrained eye, they look like odd little soap bubbles in the sand. Put them in water, and they often come alive again and can look like those alien attackers in the video game Crysis. (All photos courtesy Seaside Aquarium and Tiffany Boothe)

Seaside Aquarium's Tiffany Boothe found quite a few of them again recently on the beaches of the north Oregon coast. The little gelatinous critters are called comb jellies – or sometimes known as sea gooseberries. They are stunning in the water – and outside of it.

“These large (3 cm) comb jellies are washing ashore in Seaside,” Boothe said earlier this week. “They may not catch your eye while stranded on the beach, but once submerged into sea water their beauty is revealed. What looks like bioluminescence is actually cilia (small hair-like structures lining the outside of the comb jelly) refracting light.”


The sea gooseberry has two tentacles, which are about three times longer than the body of the critter. These are lined with colloblasts – a specialized adhesive cell that helps snag food for the comb jelly.

They only live about four to six months.

Periodically, Boothe has been able to bring them back to life by putting them in sea water back at the Seaside Aquarium.

“But once in salt water this beautiful and graceful jelly begins to move, pulsating the small cilia that line the outside of the jelly,” Boothe said. Oregon Coast Lodging in this area - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours



More from Seaside below:

 

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

 

A famous little family eatery where the seafood practically gets shuffled from the sea straight into your mouth. Soups and salads include many seafood specialties, including cioppino, chowders, crab Louie and cheese breads. Fish 'n' chips come w/ various fish. Seafood sandwiches with shrimp, tuna or crab, as well as burgers. Dinners like pan fried oysters, fillets of salmon or halibut, saut�ed scallops.
Oregon Coast event or adventure you can't miss
Pacific City, Oregon

 


 

LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

ODOT: Little Humbug Bridge On Route to N. Oregon Coast Soon Under Constructio...
Near MP 8 on Hwy 26 to Seaside / Cannon Beach
California Man Dies After Falling Off S. Oregon Coast Cliff Near Natural Brid...
The man had become separated from his wife on the trail. Brookings
US Coast Guard Rescues in April Include 2 Persons, 2 Dogs Off Washington and ...
One near Brookings involving two dogs; other near Queets
Waldport's Beach, Bike 'n Blues Fest Slams Into Central Oregon Coast in May
May 4: a festival that's grown by leaps and bounds. Waldport events, Yachats events, Newport events
Discovering Spring, Summer Along Central Oregon Coast: Hints from Pacific Cit...
A kind of summer preview from Pacific City, Newport, Depoe Bay, Yachats, Florence
Florence, Oregon's Rhody Fest Gears Up for May's Big Start on Central Coast
117th edition for its run of May 16 to 19. Florence events
Winning Photos in Oregon Coast King Tides Photo Contest Announced
Incredible situations and adrenaline-pumping images. Weather
Outstanding Hotels / Places to Stay at Gold Beach: Quirky Gems of S. Oregon C...
Gold Beach boasts a lot more than many may know. Gold Beach hotel reviews

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net
All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted

Oregon Coast Lodging
Rentals
Specials

Dining

Events Calendar

Oregon Coast Weather

Travel News

Search for Oregon Coast Subjects, Articles

Virtual Tours, Maps
Deep Details