Surge Jelly

Surge jelly (tentatively Staurobrachia capacitor). Large, complex jelly that hunts with electric shocks.

Single animal

Unlike colonial organisms such as the Portuguese man'o'war, the surge jelly is a single animal with specialized tissues—far more specialized and complex than Earth jellies. Proposed class name: staurobrachia (pole arms).

Complex internal structure

Outer bell ringed with sense organs called rhopalia. A nerve net coordinates the bell's motions to swim and seek prey. The visible inner structure is the gut.

Feeding structure

The jelly retains its stalk — a remnant of its growth in a stack of clones. The stalk draws in nutrients for the gut.

Charged fins

Two rigid fins contain wirelike electrocytes, likely a development of ancestral tentacles. These organs build voltage to stun or kill prey. Measured power ranges from 400 to 1000 volts at 1 ampere: enough to kill a human.

Peculiar passengers

Traces of radioactivity, high-temperature waxes and sulfuric acid imply contact with a hydrothermal vent. Composition of the jelly's tissues suggest origins in the deep ocean.

Former domestics?

Jellies in close proximity communicate through their electric fields. Whether jellies have individual names or a grammatical language is purely speculative, but some patterns may be trained or learned—even passed down through generations of jellies.

Assessment

minor danger in close contact. Fascinating research prospect from a distance.