# Common jellyfish (*Aurelia aurita*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-jellyfish  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) is a species in the family Ulmaridae, order Semaeostomeae. It has been recorded in 65 countries, most often in United Kingdom, Netherlands and Sweden.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Recorded in | 65 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Cnidaria
- class: Scyphozoa
- order: Semaeostomeae
- family: Ulmaridae
- genus: Aurelia
- species: *Aurelia aurita* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Aurelia flavidula*, *Aurellia flavidula*, *Medusa aurita*, *Medusa purpurea*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

United Kingdom (3846), Netherlands (3068), Sweden (2341), United States (1130), Norway (984), Ukraine (826), Ireland (811), Canada (712), Germany (644), Finland (412), France (347), Denmark (247), Estonia (185), Belgium (178), Australia (131), Israel (110), Russia (93), Poland (91), Isle of Man (82), Türkiye (74), French Guiana (58), Egypt (46), Lithuania (29), Iceland (26), Japan (23), Lebanon (23), Spain (19), Bulgaria (18), Åland Islands (17), Latvia (13), Romania (13), Georgia (10), Mexico (10), South Korea (9), Colombia (6), Indonesia (6), Jersey (6), New Caledonia (6), St. Pierre & Miquelon (6), Guadeloupe (5), Greece (5), Argentina (4), Belize (4), Chile (4), Greenland (4), St. Barthélemy (3), Cuba (3), Croatia (3), New Zealand (3), Portugal (3), Bermuda (2), Congo - Kinshasa (2), Faroe Islands (2), Italy (2), Puerto Rico (2), Sudan (2), Barbados (1), Guernsey (1), Honduras (1), Kenya (1), and 5 more

## Common questions

### Where does the common jellyfish live?

The common jellyfish has openly licensed sighting records from 65 countries on GBIF. The most records come from United Kingdom, Netherlands, Sweden, United States and Norway. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

### What kind of animal is the common jellyfish?

The common jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) belongs to the family Ulmaridae in the order Semaeostomeae.

## Sources

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: Common jellyfish (Aurelia aurita). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-jellyfish