Thimble jellyfish Thimble jellyfish The thimble jellyfish ("Linuche unguiculata") is a species of cnidarian found in the neotropical Atlantic Ocean. It is a tiny jellyfish with a straight-sided, flat-topped bell. This jellyfish is the most common cause of seabather's eruption, a reaction caused by the injection of juvenile jellyfish nematocysts into human skin. The medusa of the thimble jellyfish has straight sides with sixteen grooves, and a flat top. The coronal groove between the top and sides provides flexibility. The margin of the bell has sixteen lappets (folds), the niches between these bearing alternately rhopalia (sense organs) and short tentacles (eight of
Jellyfish harvested for food, mostly in southeast Asia. Rhizostomes, especially "Rhopilema esculentum" in China ( "hǎizhé", "sea stingers") and "Stomolophus meleagris" (cannonball jellyfish) in the United States, are favored because of their larger and more rigid bodies and because their toxins are harmless to humans. Traditional processing methods, carried out by a jellyfish master, involve a 20- to 40-day multi-phase procedure in which, after removing the gonads and mucous membranes, the umbrella and oral arms are treated with a mixture of table salt and alum, and compressed. Processing makes the jellyfish drier and more acidic, producing a crispy texture. Jellyfish prepared