#chrysaora

Sea Nettle (Chrysaora achlyos) Monterey Bay Aquarium

I haven't watched this episode in full yet (will do so on the weekend) but the Ep.2 scene in the bar toilet (Ep.2 [4/4] 10.36) piqued my interest with naga Tharn and garuda Phaya getting frisky in the water room. And there's a bit more than meets the eye...

As the bar lighting flits from red tones to cool aquamarine and back again (echoing the dance of the fiery garuda and the waterlord naga), a drunk Tharn decides to call Phaya... EVIL JELLYFISH? 👀

Since Tharn is the reincarnation of a water-dwelling naga with dominion over all things water – the marine reference does make sense. However, the subtitles took a bit of license, and what Tharn actually says there is also reference to Phaya's garuda persona (remembering that garudas in The Sign are associated with sun and flame).

The name that Tharn calls Phaya is แมงกะพรุนไฟ/maaeng ga phroon fai, which refers to a particular kind of jellyfish. (I think the subtitles have slightly misspelt it as แมงกระพรุนไฟ though.) Anyway maaeng ga phroon fai literally means fire jellyfish and is a tip of the hat to Phaya's garuda identity. 🤩

(above) แมงกะพรุนไฟ/maaeng ga phroon fai/fire jellyfish; attribution linked here

And when Phaya talks about the jellyfish's sting, well... The jellyfish that Thai people call maaeng ga phroon fai is from the genus Chrysaora, which gets its name from Chrysaor in Greek mythology. Chrysaor was the son of Poseidon (the god of the sea) and Medusa (the gorgon with a head of snakes), and this coincidentally is also nod at Tharn's sea-going naga (or serpent) persona (even though he's using it to address Phaya).

pictures of a japanese sea nettle (chrysaora pacifica) i took at the london sea life aquarium. they are carnivorous jellyfish, with their diet consisting of other jellyfish, anchovy eggs, zooplankton and copepods. their sting causes skin irritation and feels like a burning sensation and is considered mild.

Two mature Chrysaora fuscescens medusae. Known as the Pacific sea nettle, it lives off the west coast of the US and Canada, reaching as far north as Alaska and as far south as Baja California in Mexico. Adults have 24 long, red tentacles that deliver a mild sting if touched.

Photograph: T. Murai/World Atlas of Jellyfish

Another orange nettle jellyfish ( Chrysaora fuscescens )